Rain Gardens: Integrating Stormwater Management into Attractive Landscaping

Abstract

Rain gardens are an effective technique to help integrate stormwater management features into the landscape, and take something that is typically viewed as a problem (stormwater runoff) and turn it into an asset (beautiful landscaping). Rain gardens are not just for residential yards. They have been successfully designed to catch runoff from buildings, parking lots, driveways, and roads. Rain gardens are used to capture stormwater runoff near the point of generation and help mitigate the adverse hydrologic impacts of urban development. They slow runoff, reduce runoff volume by infiltrating stormwater into the ground, and filter pollutants in the process. Although rain gardens and similar Low Impact Development (LID) techniques are generally considered for their water quality benefits, studies in other communities are documenting hydrologic benefits from these techniques as well. Thus, they can also be important tools to help prevent the stream degradation that is becoming all too common in our urbanizing areas. This presentation will cover the science and design of rain gardens, demonstrate successful and attractive applications in municipal and commercial settings, and share success stories from communities that have documented their effectiveness.