Got Rain? Plant a Garden!
Gopala Borchelt, Projects Director for Table Rock Lake Water Quality Inc.
The Illinois River Watershed Partnership (IRWP) works on water quality projects and public education in Illinois River area which drains to the west of Fayettville, AR and into Oklahoma. The James River Basin Partnership (JRBP) also does water quality protection projects in the James River Watershed which receives water draining from the City of Springfield, MO. What do these areas have in common? Stormwater runnoff. The growing urban sprawl associated with the populations of Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas has increased the amount of stormwater flowing into streams during rains causing more flash flooding and carrying pollution from roads, parking lots, yards, storm sewers and other sources.
The IRWP, JRBP and other water quality partnerhsips have been working to incorporate rain gardens, Also known and bioretention, into urban landscapes. Last month IRWP held a Rain Garden Academy to help local folks in the Springdale/Rogers area learn how they can easily implement rain gardens in their own yards and businesses. Presentations by several local homeowners showed how a rain garden can be easily installed by creating a shallow depression in the lowest part of the yard and filling it with organic soils, mulch and native plants.
Raingarden Academy at Horsebarn Creek
Rain gardens can temporarily store runoff water, reduce flash flooding, and help maintain the pre-development or natural stormwater discharge rate and timing. The volume of runoff that needs to be controlled changes with each site based on the local development's impact on the site, the topography and the size of impervious or paved areas. Beaver Water District in Rogers, AR has implemented many bioretention features at its new administration offices which include grass overflow parking, pervious concrete and bioretention basins to capture any stormwater run-off that does flow past their parking and building areas. These practices combined allow for no more runoff from Beaver Water District's 20-acre site than there occurred prior to development.
Grass overflow parking (left) Retention basin (right) at Beaver Water District Some of the efforts by the James River Basin Partenership include concentrations of rain gardens in subdivisions. Often turf grass in most urban lawns is not ideas for filtering stormwater run-off as the grass roots are shallow and soils become compacted. JRBP had also installed demonstration gardens in public places such as local businesses, libraries and schools.
Neighborhood raingarden (left) Springfield Library Center Demonstration Garden (right).
Rain gardens are shown to remove heavy metals, Phosphorus and Nitrogen from stormwater with study results showing 90%, 80% and 60% removal, respectively, of these pollutants. Lab and field experiments conducted by the University of Maryland in conjunction with Prince George's County Dept. of Environmental Resources and the National Science Foundation can be found at http://www.ence.umd.edu/~apdavis/ Bioret.htm. Soil erosion, oils and sediment can also be captured in a rain garden as the velocity of the runoff slows and solids fall out of suspension. Field studies at the University of Virginia have indicated 86% removal for Total Suspended Solids (TSS), 97% for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and 67% for oil and grease.
Maintenance is key:
As with any other garden, there is a moderate amount of maintenance required for a grain garden. Usually native plantings are encouraged due to their ability to thrive with minimal maintenance and their adaptability to the changing climate of the local region. Normal maintenance includes weeding and periodic mulching of the garden to help hold moisture retain soil permeability. Rain Gardens are mini eco-systems which involve the hydrologic cycle, stormwater pollutant treatment, habitat creation, landscape architecture, and ecology. Beyond use for stormwater control, rain gardens provide attractive landscaping and a natural habitat for birds and butterflies.
Raingardens can be beautiful
Quote of the Week
There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.
~Marshall McLuhan, 1964
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