There are reasons your front yard may have a depression or swale next to the roadway. These are installed to hold rainwater from both the roadway and your property. Some residents get confused as to why they need a swale if they are at the top of a hill.
If the swale at the top of the hill is removed, it won’t hold water in check for your neighbor at the bottom of the hill resulting in the possibility of their house flooding.
Swales also make driving safer and filter the water before it enters drainage systems. All drainage systems eventually enter our waterways, so the more we can filter it, the better for the environment.