Soak it up and let it bloom!

Mimicking the past to protect the future

Jeff AdamsWashington Sea Grant360-337-4169jaws@uw.edu

Peg TilleryWSU Kitsap County Extension360-337-7224PTillery@co.kitsap.wa.us

Kitsap Conservation District

Let’s get to know each other

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Introductions… name and city/area

• Live in city limits?

What to expect today• stormwater overview

• overview of rain garden installation

• constraints

• soils/perc testing

• field exercise – locating a rain garden

UndevelopedWatershed

ModifiedWatershed

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Not just about rain gardens!

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• rainwater harvesting – rain barrel/cistern

• pervious sidewalks and driveways

• vegetated roofs

• compost-amended soils

• vegetated periphery – added value as screen

Pervious Surfaces

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• Pervious concrete/asphalt

• Pervious pavers

• Home Builders Association of Kitsap County – 5251 Auto Center Way

• Bremerton – Pacific between 5th and 6th

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Green roofs

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• challenging and expensive for a house (try a shed, bird box…)

• requires extra support and waterproof liner

Mace Vaughan

American Wick Drain Corp.

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Where does your water go now?

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• tight lined to a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)

• splash block

• infiltration system

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/home/diy/downspout-splash-blockEast Pikeland Township, Pennsylvania

Why build a rain garden?

• Beautiful!

• Add additional plants to your landscape

• Provide habitat for wildlife

• Reduce flooding

• Recharge groundwater

• Treat pollutants

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Stewardship Partners - www.stewardshippartners.orgJeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Stewardship Partners - www.stewardshippartners.org

Anatomy of a Rain Garden(page 4)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• ?

http://www.pierce.wsu.edu/Water_Quality/LID/

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Steps to building a rain garden

• Locate

• Design and build

• Plant

• Maintain

Locate(page 5)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Locate(page 5)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• What are your hard surfaces and where do they drain?

• Identify the best place(s) for a rain garden

• What kind of soil do you have?

Do Locate

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Where it improves the appearance of your home

• Where an overflow can direct water safely away from the home and neighboring property

• Where water drains to the garden by gravity

Christine Coltellaro

Don’t locate

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Where native vegetation and soils could be disturbed

• Where structures, slopes or resources may be at risk

• (Chuck Smiley from Kitsap SSWM is up next)

• Over utilities (call before you dig! 800-424-5555)

• In low spots or poor draining soils (think bog garden?)

• Where groundwater is shallow

Soils and drainage test(page 8/9)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Soil drainage test – shovel time!(page 8/9)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• dig a hole - 2’ deep, 1’ wide should do it; bigger works

• observe soil as you dig

• squeeze a handful (make sure it’s moist) – sticky ball, crumbly handful or something in between

• test drainage (best in winter; if dry, fill hole twice before recording)

• fill hole nearly half way; measure and record the water depth in inches

• record time it takes for all water to disappear and divide the depth by the time for your drainage rate

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Design (page 10)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Design

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• What size of rain garden do you need and what shape would you like?

• Lay out the rain garden

• Plan inlet and overflow

Inlet and overflow

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Size and shape

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams Washington Sea Grant jaws@uw.edu 360-337-4619

Build

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

After planning, the homeowners, volunteers, agency or contractors…

• lay it out

• call before you…

• dig a hole,

• fill the hole with rain garden soil,

• plant and mulch,

• direct water to and safely from,

Keep it simple…

• No filter fabric, no gravel in the bottom, and no underdrains

Build… in brief

Call before you dig!!!

www.callbeforeyoudig.org/

1-800-424-5555

811

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Layout

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

- Outline the rain garden shape (flagging and nails work well)

- Remove the sod

- Let the dirt fly!

Dig!big toys or strong

backs

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Well draining soils (>1”/hour)

• dig 9”,

• level,

• till in 3” compost,

• you’re done!

• Flat ground (5% or less)

• dig to depth (usuarlly 24”) and set soil aside

On a slope

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Inlet and overflow

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Inlet

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Inlet and overflow

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Inlet and overflow

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Fill the hole

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Clay soil? – Replace it with a rain garden soil mix (60% screened sand, 40% compost by volume)

• Sandy loam or moderately well draining soil? – Mix your soil with compost (65% soil, 35% compost by volume)

• Add 6” soil to rain garden; walk on it to lightly compact; repeat until you’re at the desired ponding depth (typically 6”)Good compost should:

- smell earthy (no ammonia),- be brown to black,- not be uniform size,- stay the same temp when wet,- and have a crumbly texture.

Plant(page 22)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Shade vs. sun

• Moisture zones

• Aesthetics

• Timing…

Maintain(page 37)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Mulch to prevent erosion and weeds

• Keep inlet and overflow clear of debris and protected with rock

• Don’t fertilize or use pesticides!

• Weed and prune as desired for aesthetics

• Water as needed

• shouldn’t need much or any, but watch your plants and see how they like their environment – if they’re really unhappy, maybe another plant should take their place

photo by: Erica Guttman

• The rain garden program for Kitsap County will reimburse landowners of Unincorporated Kitsap County 50% of costs for materials and contractor labor, not to exceed $500.00 per rain garden.

• Each cost shared site must be evaluated for participation in the program prior to purchase of materials or work.

• Landowners will fill out a cost share application with KCD.

• KCD can contribute technical assistance if needed for design or construction.

• Once the application is approved and garden is built, the landowner will submit bills for cost share reimbursement.

Contact: Teresa Brooks at Kitsap Conservation District t-brooks@conservewa.net 360-337-7171 ext 24

Kitsap County Rain Garden Cost Share Program

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams Washington Sea Grant jaws@uw.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams Washington Sea Grant jaws@uw.edu 360-337-4619

Plant(page 22)

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

• Shade vs. sun

• Moisture zones

• Aesthetics

• Timing…

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Design, build,

plant exercise

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Sylvan Way Library Rain Garden Plant/Materials list

• 20-24 Salal, Planted 5 ft apart• 9 Snowberry, Planted 5 ft apart• 6-9 Mahonia aquifolium 'compacta, 6 planted 5ft apart, a little closer (up to 9) if compacta is available• 3-5 dwarf red twig dogwood, planted 5 ft apart• 8 arctic willow, planted 3-4 ft apart• 20-24 kinnickkinnick, planted 1-2ft apart• 7-9 slough sedge, planted 2-3ft apart and in clusters with space between• 6-7 Dager-leaf Rush, 2-3ft apart and in clusters with space between

soil amendment, rocks, pipe, mulch/bark

Jeff Adams WA Sea Grant jaws@u.washington.edu 360-337-4619

Please ask questions.

Thanks!

Jeff Adams Washington Sea Grant jaws@uw.edu 360-337-4619

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