8/3/2019 Indiana; Rain Garden Frequently Asked Questions - City of Jeffersonville

1/2

Rain Garden Frequently Asked Questions

Whatisaraingarden?Araingardenisanattractivegardenwithaspecialpurposetoreducetheamountofstormwaterenteringourbeautiful

streams,riversandlakes.Araingardenisconstructedasaplacetodirecttherainfromyourroofordrivewayandisland

scapedwithplantspeciesnativetoourregion.

Whatmakesaraingardendifferentfromanyotherperennialgarden? Araingardenisbowlorsaucershaped,notmoundedorflatlikeotherperennialgardens.Itisnotjustaprettygarden;

itisalsodesignedwithdeep,loosesoil,specificallytocollectandabsorbrainthat

wouldotherwiserunoffyourproperty,and/ortosolvewetspotproblemswhere

waterisalreadycollected.

InsteadofusingcultivatedplantsfromEuropeandAsia,araingardenisplanted

primarilywithdeeprooted,lowcare,perennialplantsnativetoyourregion,that

haveadaptedoverthousandsofyearstoyourlocalweatherandconditions.The

deeprootsprovidechannelsintoyoursoilforwatertotravelinto.Thenativeplants

providehabitatforlocalbutterfliesandotherwildlife.Thenativeplantsdonot

needtobetreatedwithchemicalfertilizers,pesticides,orherbicidesinorderto

thrive.A

rain

garden

is

abeautiful

way

to

make

your

property

healthier

for

your

familyandcommunity,whilehelpingtoprotectthelakes,rivers,andstreamswhereyoulive.

Whyaraingarden?Stormwatercarriespollutionfromyards,streets,andparkinglotsintothenearestbodyofwater.Onestudyshowedthatup

to50%ofthatpollutioncomesfromthingswedoinouryardsandgardens!Bycreatingaraingardenonyourproperty,you

canhelpimprovewaterqualityinlocalstreams,rivers,andlakes.Youcanuserainthewaynatureintended,insteadof

throwingthisresourceaway.Araingardenisanaturalwayforyoutohelpsolveourstormwaterpollutionproblems,help

rechargegroundwater,andprotectourwaterresources.

Inaddition,raingardensareattractivelandscapingfeatures.Theyfeaturenativespeciesofplantsthatareadaptedtoyour

region,andtheycanbelowmaintenancewhileprovidinghabitatfornativewildlifeandbutterflies.

Whyisstormwateraproblem?Wetendtothinkthatlargeindustrialpolluterscausemostwaterpollution,butthisisnotthecase.Wearetherealculprits.

TheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)hasdeterminedthatupto70%ofthepollutioninoursurfacewatersiscarried

therebystormwaterrunoff.Somestudiesshowthatabout50%ofthatpollutioncomesfromindividualsandhomeowners,

duetoyardcare,yardwaste,andchemicalpollutionfromhouseholdactivities.

Whenitrains,waterrunsoffofourroofs,parkinglots,streets,andlawns,insteadofsoak

ingintothesoilthewayitdidbeforedevelopment.Thiswater,alongwitheverythingit

picksupalongtheway,endsupinstormsewersandditchesthatdischargetostreams,

riversandlakes.Saltfromroads,petwaste,lawnnutrients,spilledgas,oiland theirpol

lutantsareallwashedintothelocalwaters.

Inadditiontocarryingpollution,thestormwaterrunoffisusuallywarm,causingapulseof

warmerwater

to

flow

down

the

stream.

In

anatural

system,

water

enters

astream

throughaslowandsteadyreleasefromgroundwater.Groundwaterhasafairlycooltem

perature,whichallowswatertoholdmoreoxygenandkeepsstreamhabitatstable. Manysensitivecreaturessuchastrout

cannotsurviveinastreamwithfluctuatingandwarmertemperatures.

Whilegroundwaterreleaseisslowandfairlysteady,stormwaterrunoffoccursallatonce.Thelargevolumesofwarmwater

flushingdownastreamcauseerosionandflooding,carrydamformingdebris,andscourthestreambed.

Howisaraingardenconstructed?Theycanbesimplejustagreenareaofyouryardwherestormwatergoesorcomplex,involvingexcavatingandre

buildingsoil.Theyalsomaybeindustrialstrength,handlinglargevolumesofwaterperiodically,wherelargescalestorm

8/3/2019 Indiana; Rain Garden Frequently Asked Questions - City of Jeffersonville

2/2

watermanagementregulationsmustbemet.

Willraingardensbreedmosquitoes?No,notifproperlyconstructed.Raingardensaredesignedtoabsorbwater,nottocreateponds.Amosquitocandevelop

fromeggtobitingadultin7or8days.Awelldesignedraingardenwithmatureplantswillnothavestandingwaterinit

after48hours;itwillallhavesoakedintothegarden.

Whatplantscanbeputinaraingarden?Many

beautiful

plants,

trees

and

shrubs

can

be

planted

in

arain

garden.

We

recommend

species

native

to

your

region,

butothercultivatednonnativespeciescanbeverybeautiful,too. Michigannativespeciesareadaptedtoourregion,

andshouldbelowmaintenanceonceestablished.

WherecanIfindaraingardenprojectinmyregion?Ifthereisasimilarprojectinyourarea,youmayfindtheirinformationinourregional

directory,oncethisfeatureiscompleted.

Whataboutroadsalt?Itisbettertolocatetheraingardenawayfromdirectsaltdischarge.Therearesomesalt

tolerantplantsthatyoumightuseiftheonlyplaceyoucanlocatetheraingardenwillbe

subjecttosaltsprayandrunoffandfromstreetsandsidewalks.

For

large

parking

lot

and

street

applications,

pre

treatment

structures

may

be

helpful,

such

as

a

sediment

settling

area.

Forlargerraingardensforcommercialparkinglots,anunderdrainsystemwouldbebest;thesaltyrunoffisfiltered

throughtheraingarden,thencarriedawaybytheunderdrainsystem.Thispreventsgroundwatercontaminationwith

chlorides.

Doraingardensworkinthewintertime?Becauseplantsaredormant,theiractivityisreduced,buttheraingardenwillstillabsorbwatereveninthewinter.The

pondingareaprovidesstorageforacertainamountofrunoffevenifthegroundisfrozen.Raingardensdoworkbestin

thesummer,butthatiswhentheyaremostneeded.

CanIpilesnowonmyraingarden?Youcanplaceasmallamountofsnowonyourraingarden,butalargeamountmaycompactthesoilsinthegardenor

damagetheplants.Aglacieronthegardeninearlyspringmayslowdownthegreeningofyourplants.Itisbettertoplace

largeamounts

of

shoveled

snow

next

to

the

rain

garden;

as

it

melts,

it

will

flow

in

and

be

absorbed.

Howeffectiveareraingardensforstormwatereducation?Wethinktheyareveryeffective,andpopular,too.Weareconductinganongoingeducationalevaluationprocess,and

theresultswillbeavailableontheCityofJeffersonvilleStormWaterwebsite.

DoIhavetomulchmyraingarden?Organicmulchisrecommendedforformalraingardendesigns.Mulchkeepsthegardenmoistandabletoabsorbrain,

makesthegardenlooktidy,anddiscouragesweeds. Anapplicationofhardwoodmulchwilllookgood,andcompost

mulcheswillenrichthesoil.Largeraingardensorbioretentionsystemsthatareplantedfromseedarenotmulched.

Arethereraingardenselsewhere?Theremaybearaingardennearyou.TheCityjustinstalledtwonewraingardensinPreservationParkonMarketStreet

(nearPearl

Street)

in

downtown

Jeffersonville.

Check

our

website

for

more

locations

as

new

rain

gardens

are

installed.

Whatisthehistoryofraingardens?Raingardensareaformofthebioretentionpondfirstdevelopedin1990.

Formoreinformationonraingardensandhowyoucanbuildoneinyourownyard,visitourwebsiteat

http://www.cityofjeff.net/eng/StormWaterMain.htmorcall812/2803818.