Rain Gardens

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Source: Flickr

Image:  USDA NRCS South Dakota

Rain gardens can be found on rooftops, along roads and trails, surrounding parking lots... just about anywhere there is a desire to collect and better utilize stormwater runoff. The rain garden above was planted in 2012 by South Dakota's Hamlin County Conservation District to filter and collect over 600 gallons of water running off into the storm drains and other waterways every time it rained an inch. A rain garden made up of a wide variety of wild grasses, shrubs, trees and beautiful native wildflowers provides a much better quality of water than a typical well.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Source: Flickr

Image: Roger Soh

Rain gardens are planted in shallow depressions with deep-rooted native plants and grasses near a heavy runoff area such as a downspout or a driveway to prevent rain water from running directly into the sewer. They're designed to withstand extreme moisture and nutrient concentrations such as phosphorus and nitrogen. They significantly help reduce water pollution in our communities. A rain garden is a great solution to that skating rink that forms in your yard every winter, downspout water running onto your driveway or even a wet basement.

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Source: Flickr

Image:  USDA NRCS South Dakotahttp://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcs_south_dakota/

Full infiltration rain gardens are implemented when all inflow is intended to infiltrate into the underlying subsoil. Full infiltration with a reservoir has a layer of drain rock so water can move through quickly into the subsoils below. Partial infiltrations are designed to have most of the water infiltrate into the underlying soil with the overflow being drained by perforated pipes placed near the top of the drain rock reservoir. Partial infiltration with flow restrictors are used where subsoil permeability is quite low, around less than 1 mm/hr. The added feature is a flow restrictor assembly with a small opening to gently decant water, causing the rain garden to act like a small water detention facility.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Source: Flickr

Image: ninepennies

In addition to lessening pollution, rain gardens offer unique and beautiful landscaping. Furthermore, they provide a friendly habitat for hummingbirds, butterflies and wildlife. Water damage and flooding is also greatly reduced. Last but not least, they recharge the ground water and absorb more water than traditional lawns.