From Water Environment Foundation
Rain gardens consist of native plants planted in shallow basins. The plants' deep roots allow water to infiltrate the soil. A well-designed rain garden can trap and retain a significant percentage of pollutants common in stormwater runoff, thereby improving water quality, according to a news release from engineering, consulting, and construction company Black & Veatch (Kansas City, Mo.).
10,000 Rain Gardens educates Kansas City residents on how to plant their own rain garden and why it is important for the environment.
The initiative started a few years ago when members of KC-One, the city's stormwater management program, had a conversation at the city's stormwater steering committee meeting about engaging residents to work on stormwater issues.
"We were looking for a way to communicate with [residents] about their own issues and how they could help," said Jeff Henson, director of water resources for Black & Veatch and KC-One project manager. The idea of a rain garden program came up as part of a brainstorming session at that meeting, and with Mayor Kay Barnes' approval, the initiative went into effect with funding from KC-One, explained Henson.
In the past few years, 10,000 Rain Gardens workshops and educational programs have informed residents on the benefits of rain gardens, as well as how to plant and maintain one in their own yards. The initiative's Web site, www.rainkc.com , offers many diagrams, downloads, a list and photographs of native plants, and other resources for both novice gardeners and green thumbs.
"It's very much an information and awareness system," said Scott Cahail, environmental manager for the Water Services Dept of Kansas City. "The web site is by far the biggest tool to reach the most people. We're well over 100,000 visits."
Workshops offered to residents have been extremely popular. "We've sold each one of those out, with about 80 people at each," Cahail said.
Although Cahail said he couldn't gauge Kansas City's water challenges in comparison to other urban environments, any measures citizens taken to help improve water quality and reduce stormwater runoff are beneficial.
"There are concerns, as there are in most urban situations, about water quality," Cahail said. "Kansas City is actually a very large city, area-wise. And the Missouri River runs somewhat through the middle of it … there [are] a lot of challenges that come along with that."
Cahail said a few streams that run through the city are prone to flooding and have caused flash flooding, resulting in human fatalities in the past. "Then you add in water quality issues and it's 'wow, we've got to sort this out.'"
Gardening Goes Corporate
The 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative got a boost from Black & Veatch, which has planted Kansas City's first corporate rain garden, and now is upgrading the bioretention basin at its headquarters.
"We're involved in a variety of projects to help government, utilities, and industry apply best management practices to improve drainage and manage urban runoff," said Dan McCarthy, president and chief executive officer of Black & Veatch's global water business. "Some stormwater management approaches necessitate substantial technology expertise, while others require the type of corporate leadership and environmental stewardship inspired by [this] initiative."
About 100 Black & Veatch employees have picked up shovels and put on gardening gloves to help construct the office's rain garden. The group is known as the Rain Garden Brigade.
"As this program got developed through the mayor's office, our leadership got interested in it … and we opened up the program to volunteers within Black & Veatch who wanted to help plant our corporate rain garden, help maintain it, and also to commit to rain gardens at their own homes," explained Henson.
Families of Black & Veatch employees have also pitched in to help with the corporate rain garden, added Linda Bond, media communications specialist for Black & Veatch Water.
This summer Black & Veatch is transforming the existing retention basin at its headquarters into a bioretention basin full of native plants."[The plants] help the water to infiltrate" into the soil, Henson said. This is especially helpful during periods of frequent storms, he explained, as then less water is "discharged into the sewer system [and] the plants help remove some pollutants through uptake," said Henson.
The office's existing detention basin was built when the building was constructed in the late 1980s, explained Henson, "and at the time it was primarily to address flood control so that we weren't increasing runoff from our site." However, the retention basin wasn't designed to help with water quality improvement. The addition of native plants will help increase the quality of water that runs off from the parking lot and other surfaces during wet weather events.
"We thought it would be a great idea to go back in and redesign that detention basin so that not only does it control the flood flows, but it also helps clean up the water before you discharge it," Henson said.
At press time, the Black & Veatch bioretention basin was in the design phase. The company expects to complete the basin by the end of the summer.
By: Meghan H. Oliver, WEF Highlights
