Rain Garden – a landscaped area planted to native flowers and other vegetation that soak up rain water, mainly from roofs, parking lots or other impervious surfaces. The rain garden fills with a few inches of water after a storm and the water slowly filters into the ground rather than running off to a storm drain. Compared to a conventional patch of lawn a rain garden allows about 30% more water to soak into the ground.
Why are rain gardens important? As cities and suburbs grow and replace forests and agricultural land increased storm water runoff from impervious surfaces becomes a problem. Storm water runoff from developed areas increases flooding and carries pollutants from streets, parking lots and even lawns into local streams and wetlands damaging wild life.
Rain gardens, by reducing this storm water runoff, can be a valuable part of changing these trends. While an individual rain garden may seem like a small thing, collectively they produce substantial community environmental benefits.
JRB
The Hamakua Group.
