Rain garden gets to the root of water runoff problem
Erin McCarthy
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: News
As a part of the Illinois Rain Garden Initiative, Western Illinois University has received a $500 grant from Governor Quinn to establish a rain garden on campus next semester.
Faculty, staff and students gathered in the Physical Plant training room Thursday afternoon to participate in a teleconference from North Carolina State University and learn about the benefits of rain gardens and how to construct them.
Kathy DeBusk, EIT Expansion Associate at NCSU, explained the issues and consequences that accompany storm water runoff.
"Development of land has many consequences," DeBusk said. "Removal of vegetation, land compaction, sediment disturbance and erosion and an increase in imperviousness."
Because urban areas contain higher concentrations of sediment, nutrients, bacteria and other pollutants like pet waste, fertilizers and oil, DeBusk said that more attention is being given to storm water runoff. The consequences of these high concentrations can include algal blooms and eutrophication, eroding and degraded streams and tainted water supply.
"People get upset when beaches close," DeBusk said. "At the same time, we don't want people exposed to these high levels of bacteria levels when they're swimming."
Despite the negative effects, DeBusk said that low impact development and best management practices are ways that developers are working to help the current environmental situation.
Jason Wright, Tetra Tech representative, also spoke in the teleconference to explain the relevance of rain gardens. Tetra Tech is a corporation that provides resource management and sustainable infrastructure services.
"To someone who's not trained in rain gardens, they might just look like a flower bed," Wright said. "The point of these gardens is not landscaping, though; this is a storm water treatment practice first."
According to Wright, rain gardens are constructed in four layers: mulch and plants, sandy organic soil, drainpipe and a gravely drainage area.
Faculty, staff and students gathered in the Physical Plant training room Thursday afternoon to participate in a teleconference from North Carolina State University and learn about the benefits of rain gardens and how to construct them.
Kathy DeBusk, EIT Expansion Associate at NCSU, explained the issues and consequences that accompany storm water runoff.
"Development of land has many consequences," DeBusk said. "Removal of vegetation, land compaction, sediment disturbance and erosion and an increase in imperviousness."
Because urban areas contain higher concentrations of sediment, nutrients, bacteria and other pollutants like pet waste, fertilizers and oil, DeBusk said that more attention is being given to storm water runoff. The consequences of these high concentrations can include algal blooms and eutrophication, eroding and degraded streams and tainted water supply.
"People get upset when beaches close," DeBusk said. "At the same time, we don't want people exposed to these high levels of bacteria levels when they're swimming."
Despite the negative effects, DeBusk said that low impact development and best management practices are ways that developers are working to help the current environmental situation.
Jason Wright, Tetra Tech representative, also spoke in the teleconference to explain the relevance of rain gardens. Tetra Tech is a corporation that provides resource management and sustainable infrastructure services.
"To someone who's not trained in rain gardens, they might just look like a flower bed," Wright said. "The point of these gardens is not landscaping, though; this is a storm water treatment practice first."
According to Wright, rain gardens are constructed in four layers: mulch and plants, sandy organic soil, drainpipe and a gravely drainage area.
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