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RAIN
GARDENS
"Your
personal contribution to cleaner water"
Homeowners
across the country are catching on to rain gardens -
landscaped areas planted with wild flowers and native
vegetation that soak up rain water runoff from buildings and
concrete patios and driveways. Today, they are even
experimenting with porous driveway surfaces that allow
absorption of rain water to aid in reducing storm water
runoff.
Why
are rain gardens important? As cities and suburbs grow
and replace forests and agricultural land, increased storm
water runoff from impervious surfaces has become a
problem for our natural habitat and drinking water
sources. storm water runoff from these areas increases
flooding, carries pollutants from streets, parking lots and
lawns into local streams and lakes.
By
reducing storm water runoff, rain gardens become a valuable
part of our personal and community effort to protect our
environment. While an individual rain garden may seem like a
small thing, collectively they produce substantial
neighborhood and community environmental benefits.
Rain gardens work in several ways:
-
Increasing
the amount of water that filters into the ground, which
recharges local and regional aquifers;
-
Helping
protect communities from flooding and drainage
problems;
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Helping
protect streams and lakes from pollutants carried by urban
runoff - lawn fertilizers and pesticides, oil and other
fluids from streets and driveways, and numerous substances
that wash off roofs;
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Enhancing
the beauty of yards and neighborhoods;
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Providing
valuable habitat for birds, butterflies and many beneficial
insects.
For
your convenience, we have provided a copy of the Iowa Rain
Garden Design and Installation Manual and links to
informative sites about preventing water pollution.
We
want to encourage businesses and residents to be good
stewards of our environment and include rain gardens in
their landscaping.
Send
us photos of your rain garden and we will post them on this
site!
"Thanks
in advance for being a good neighbor and citizen"
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