Orange City Council is trialling modifications to the city’s kerb and guttering to use stormwater to water nearby street trees.
The trial of the passive irrigation system is being undertaken in a section of Webb Street in North Orange.
The system, which is being used by other Councils around the country, involves cutting a hole in the kerb to allow water to flow through a PVC pipe and into a pit in the nature strip filled with gravel. The water then seeps into the ground over time to provide moisture for nearby street trees.
The system also works to encourage the tree roots to grow towards the source of the moisture and away from kerbs, gutters and concrete paths, minimising damage to infrastructure as the trees grow.
Directing rainfall to soak into the soil helps to create a cooler, healthier and more liveable community. The water will assist the street trees to grow healthy canopies, shading our streets and footpaths and combating the urban heat island effect (UHIE).
UHIE warms our environment as hard surfaces such as roads, concrete driveways and dark-coloured surfaces absorb, store and radiate heat during the day, which then slowly dissipates at night.
Passive irrigation of street trees will enable Council’s tree care team to be more efficient and effective by directing resources into planting and pruning trees rather than watering trees during the dry summer periods.
