"Walter Cohen" wrote in
t:

I thought there was something akin to a gutter, but not with a trough
for water, that would disperse water as it came down the roof to the
edge. Obviously it would not catch any rain water but simply disperse
it out over the roof edge. Does something like this exist?

I was thinking that in order to eliminate gutters clogged with ice in
winter months if I could just allow the water from melting snow to
just disperse out over the edge of the roof to the ground below.

If nothing like this exists or if it just wouldn't work
then......never mind (or...fugedaboutit).

They exist, but I can't remember the name. The marketing gimmick is that
they don't get clogged with leaves and such. They're designed to break up
the water so that it sprinkles down and doesn't erode the ground below like
a stream of water would.

In my opinion, they aren't well suited for many applications. In my case, I
need to get water away from the foundation, so I don't end up with it in my
basement. I need gutters, downspouts and long extensions to do that. The
product you're thinking of still allows the water to fall near the house,
and wouldn't work for me.