As a direct result of some of the work-related seminars that I attended this spring, you all will be treated to an explanation of these easy- to- install outdoor water filtration systems. Before these talks I'll admit that I never wondered about the water as it rushed into the storm drains in my neighborhood. It was a revelation to me how much "stuff" like pet waste, pesticides, herbicides, trash, motor oil, antifreeze, etc. are rushing into the storm drains and directly out into the waterways without any sanitizing! Did you know that by using new forensic science techniques to match bacteria found in water to the bacteria from specific animals, including humans and domestic animals, scientists have found that dog waste is a significant contributor of harmful bacteria in our waterways? The contamination ends up in the waterways because rain water rushes off properties very quickly, and it carries with it traces of everything in yards. Now all those TV commercials reminding us to "scoop the poop" make a lot more sense to me. 

      Rain gardens are not something you construct to help make it rain (though we certainly could've used that last year). Instead they deal with the water that rushes off your roof during a storm and either runs directly out into the road because your property slopes slightly; or with the water that settles in a low area of your yard for a day or two. A rain garden can be described as a man-made depression in the ground that is used as a landscape tool to improve water quality. Rain gardens differ from bog gardens because the plants in the latter like wet conditions while the rain garden plants will grow in normal conditions and tolerate occasional wet feet. Bog gardens are also prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes unless you use a safe biological control like Mosquito Dunks.. Rain gardens are not supposed to hold water longer than a day or so; therefore installing one in an area with heavy clay soil without first amending the soil is not even desirable. The purpose of rain gardens is to slow down the rush of water so that it can percolate into the ground and replenish our aquifers (underground layers of porous rock, etc. containing water) and not run off into storm drains.  The roots of the plant material in rain gardens act as "filters" and thereby can improve water quality, as well. Many people install only native plants in their rain gardens however other combinations of plant material work, too. Visit the recently -installed rain garden located at the Virginia Tech Research Station on Diamond Springs Rd. in Virginia Beach to see which plants were used in their design.  

     Though I do not have a body of water on my property, I now know the benefits of a properly designed and maintained riparian buffer strip. A riparian buffer is defined as strips or small areas of land in permanent vegetation that help control pollutants and promote other environmental benefits. The vegetative buffers are strips of grass, trees or shrubs established along streams, ditches, wetlands or other water bodies (like retention ponds). Again, the purpose of the buffer is to trap sediment, filter nutrients and keep fewer pesticides, herbicides, etc. from polluting said body of water. You can find out more about buffers online, but bear in mind that you must contact your local government for their regulations before installing a riparian buffer strip. I was also told by an arborist with the city of Chesapeake that the Chesapeake Arboretum is itself a riparian buffer, so you can see a large buffer in action if you visit this park.

     There is a wealth of information online about rain gardens, so take a closer look at your property now to see if there's any way you can help protect our waterways. Share the ideas you find with your neighbors. The bottom line is that as a group, homeowners  can have a big impact on improving this growing pollution problem. Your property can become more interesting at the same time!

Ann Weber