Straight answers
Quick, plain-English answers about buffers, safety, maintenance, policy, and privacy — with honest assumptions.
A rain barrel with a simple diverter. It gives ~200–300 L buffering per storm and teaches the flow on your roof. Route overflow to soil or a safe drain.
See Rain Barrel for tools and a 1-hour install.
For a barrel or planters: rarely. For structural work (green/blue-green roof) or street connections, check with your HOA/VvE and municipality.
Our guides flag when to get expert sign-off.
Rule-of-thumb for peak shaving: sedum ~60–80 L/m² usable per year; blue-green with smart control ~90 L/m², because you can pre-drain before a storm.
Always confirm structural load with a professional.
Prefer soil/planting first, then a safe drain. Never into a neighbor’s wall or across a walkway.
Our diagrams show simple slow-release hoses or curb-cut bowls.
Overflows are designed safety valves when peaks exceed capacity in combined sewers. Local blockages don’t create that design, but they can make brown-water incidents and street flooding more likely at specific spots — so reporting and clearing blockages matters.
After an overflow, water quality can be poor for a while. Many cities advise against swimming shortly after major rain. Check local advisories.
Reducing peak discharges lowers short, dirty pulses into canals. That’s generally positive. Our “fish-day” metric is a playful proxy, not biology.
Upsizing underground helps but is expensive, space-constrained, and slow. Cities increasingly combine maintenance + selective separation + above-ground SuDS (blue-green roofs, rain gardens, sponge streets).
Water-quality targets are tightening. Above-ground buffering is part of how cities close the gap while keeping costs and carbon in check.
You earn points for installs and contributions. Levels step every ~300 points; medals at higher thresholds. District scores combine reported installs + estimated buffering.
Yes. You can join a district anonymously and still contribute to totals. Opt-in if you want your nickname on leaderboards.
By default, just local progress in your browser (localStorage). If you opt-in later, we store minimal account and impact data.
Yes. Use “Reset my local data” on the Community page for local progress. For account data (when available), you’ll have a self-serve delete.
Keep it dark/closed, use a fine mesh on the inlet, and drain between storms with a slow-release hose. A teaspoon of vegetable oil film can deter larvae (check local guidance).
Check overflow routing and add a small gravel soakaway. If the street floods, report a possible blockage to the city.
Always verify load capacity with a professional before installation. Lightweight systems exist, but don’t guess.
Email hello@spongify.example with photos, a short description, and your district. We’ll reply and might feature your story.