Riparia provides exhaustive green infrastructure maintenance services with crews and management experienced specifically in vegetated stormwater facility care, bringing over 30 years of combined experience to every site.
Green stormwater infrastructure—bioretention cells, bioswales, rain gardens, detention ponds, constructed wetlands, stormwater planters, and filtration systems like Filterra and Biopods—requires specialized, knowledgeable maintenance to continue functioning as designed. This work demands a unique attention to detail that goes well beyond standard landscaping. If you’re responsible for a vegetated stormwater facility, Riparia has the expertise to keep it compliant, functional, and looking its best.
HOA board members and presidents who need a qualified maintenance contractor for a vegetated stormwater facility on their community’s property and want the confidence that it’s being maintained to regulatory standards.
HOA association managers at property management companies responsible for maintaining vegetated stormwater facilities across a portfolio of HOA clients and looking for a single, reliable contractor who understands the compliance requirements involved.
Commercial, multifamily, and industrial property managers who oversee stormwater facilities at their properties and need a contractor with the technical knowledge to maintain them properly and document that maintenance for regulators.
When Riparia maintains your green stormwater infrastructure, you gain the benefit of an experienced crew with specialized expertise in a wide range of essential services. Every visit is informed by a thorough understanding of your specific facility—its design, its function, its regulatory obligations, and its maintenance history.
For customers enrolled in an ongoing noxious weed control program, Riparia also develops an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan tailored to your facility’s specific vegetation challenges. All maintenance activities are documented and submitted to you or the applicable regulatory agency as required by your operations and maintenance plan.
Before mobilizing to your site, our crew reviews the facility’s plan sets, O&M agreement, and any site-specific notes from prior visits. We believe in knowing before we go—every crew member arrives understanding the facility’s layout, function, and the maintenance priorities for that visit.
Upon arrival, the crew assesses the work zone and completes a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) to identify any site-specific hazards before work begins. Safety is built into every step of our process, not treated as an afterthought.
The crew performs all required maintenance tasks for the visit—vegetation management, weed control, inlet and outlet clearing, debris removal, sediment removal, erosion control, and any additional scope items identified during the site assessment.
At the conclusion of each visit, the crew completes a detailed maintenance log documenting every task performed, observations about facility condition, and any items requiring follow-up attention.
Maintenance logs are submitted to the customer and, where required by permit or O&M agreement, to the applicable regulatory agency. Our documentation gives you a clear, defensible record of your facility’s maintenance history.
Vegetated stormwater facilities are living systems. Unlike gray infrastructure, which degrades primarily through physical wear, green infrastructure can fail in multiple directions—from overgrowth and invasive encroachment to vegetation loss, erosion, and sediment accumulation. Many jurisdictions require property owners to maintain vegetated stormwater facilities in accordance with an approved operations and maintenance plan as a condition of their stormwater permit. Regular, knowledgeable maintenance is what keeps these systems functional, compliant, and balanced.
Well-maintained vegetated facilities enhance the surrounding property and community. Neglected areas become eyesores that reflect poorly on ownership and diminish property value.
Healthy vegetation and adequate capacity are what make these facilities work. Without regular maintenance, both degrade along with the facility’s ability to treat stormwater.
Without regular vegetation management, invasive species crowd out the native plants these facilities depend on. Once established, they are far more costly to remove than to manage proactively.
Sediment accumulates over time and progressively reduces a facility’s ability to hold and treat stormwater. Periodic removal is far less expensive than the rehabilitation that deferred maintenance eventually requires.
Clogged inlets and outlets, reduced capacity, and debris buildup can cause stormwater to back up and flood surrounding areas—damaging adjacent properties, roads, and infrastructure.
Riparia partnered with a private homeowners association to restore a stormwater treatment facility consisting of detention infrastructure and a large vegetated flow-through swale with an augmented underdrain system. The facility had experienced reduced performance due to sediment accumulation, damaged infrastructure components, and drainage issues identified during City inspections.
Following unsuccessful repair efforts by another contractor, the HOA engaged Riparia to evaluate existing conditions and develop a comprehensive rehabilitation approach to restore functionality, improve long-term performance, and return the facility to compliance.
A vegetated swale had fallen out of compliance and an adjacent detention pond had lost significant treatment capacity due to sediment buildup. Riparia removed bulk sediment from the pond, regraded the swale, hydroseeded the banks to restore native vegetation, and exposed buried riprap energy dissipators that had been lost under accumulated material. Delivered on time and on budget.
A detention pond had fallen out of compliance due to sediment accumulation, overgrown vegetation, and a failing gravel access road. The client was also experiencing localized roadside ponding and flooding during moderate rain events. Riparia removed accumulated sediment to restore treatment capacity, rebuilt the gravel access road, and jetted the incoming stormwater line to restore flow. Completed on time and on budget, with flooding issues resolved.
Restoring vegetated swales to their design grade and cross-section when sediment accumulation or erosion has compromised their function.
Removing accumulated sediment from detention and retention ponds to restore design capacity and stormwater treatment performance.
Comprehensive rehabilitation of green stormwater infrastructure that has deteriorated beyond the scope of routine maintenance, returning facilities to full compliance and function.
Your vegetated stormwater facility is a regulatory obligation and a long-term asset. Keeping it maintained properly protects both. Contact Riparia today to schedule a site visit and let’s build a maintenance program that works for your green infrastructure.
Or call us directly: (360) 693-4555