The word of the day for February 26, 2008 is "drainage" — noun — 1: the act, process, or mode of draining; also : something drained off. 2: a device for draining : DRAIN; also : a system of drains. 3: an area or district drained.
There was a question yesterday about where the water here runs to when it rains. The answer is that the streets have an ever so slight down grade to the south and east. The water runs along the gutter channels until eventually they get to a ditch or a storm drain. North of Wildwood Park there is a catch pond put in about 25 years ago. The dirt dredged from this pond was thrown onto the field that became the park. It now serves the neighbor children as a sledding hill.
The area where our house is built is actually on the flood plain of the Arkansas River. During the 1950s Wichita built a floodway canal around the west side of the city to minimize flooding. As the city has grown westward beyond the "Big Ditch," we get more flooding along the Cowskin Creek. People west of the "Big Ditch" are now agitating to have another canal built to protect them from the creek.
Our quote for today is from Anne Sexton (1928–1974), U.S. poet. “Three Green Windows”:
I have misplaced the Van Allen belt
the sewers and the drainage,
the urban renewal and the suburban centers
I have forgotten the names of the literary critics.
;^) Jan
3 comments:
I live in the fens in East Anglia UK ,where there are many drains and water ways ,to drain land that was once under the sea ...love Jan xx
Thank you for the lovely photo's. Unless there is flooding I don't think many of us actually give drainage much of a thought...Thankfully as I love in a very hilly village we don't have dangerfrom water overflowing. Although I probably live nearest the Bye brook I am still way above it in the valley. LOve Sybil xx
Thank you so mcuh for answering my curious question Jan. It just seemed so strange not to see drains such as we have in Britain. I was very honoured you went out and took photos of your drainage system to give me an answer. It is very clever and completely different from ours.
There are some unusual homes in your area too. I guess your Bubbles could run rings round the bigger dogs in your neighbours garden. One little Yorkshire terrier did that to my dog. It came running uphill to attack him and it kept going under his legs. He couldn't make head nor tails of what it was up to. He was dizzy trying to keep up with its antics. Lol!
Hugs
Jeanie xxx
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