Rain Gardens: A Sustainable Design Solution

Now, more than ever, sustainable design (or green design) can make a significant impact toward reducing the depletion of our natural resources and improving quality of life in communities and workplaces. Producing a sustainable development involves careful analysis of a variety ofinterconnected issues. One example of a beneficial (and beautiful) sustainable design feature is the rain garden (or bio-swale).

A substantial amount of pollution is carried into our waterways by runoff from our lawns, rooftops, driveways, sidewalks, parking lots and roadways. Traditional storm drainage systems, which include sewers and open ditches, can flow untreated into our rivers, lakes and streams.
 
Use of rain gardens can help keep our streams and rivers clean by filtering storm-water runoff before it enters local waterways. When a rain garden is utilized, water is absorbed by the rain garden plants and infiltrated into the ground. The deep roots of native plants penetrate the soil and increase water infiltration while filtering out pollutants.

There is a widespread myth that eco-friendly design principles are always more expensive or complicated. In actuality, rain gardens are not a highly engineered or expensive system to build and/or maintain. They are not ponds or water features, and since they are designed to hold water for only 24-48 hours, they do not become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Jose Castrejon, a sustainable Landscape Architect with MSP, believes that balance is the key to green site planning. “While rain gardens serve a functional purpose, they do not need to be expensive to implement. They key is to apply these principles in key areas which will have the greatest benefit both functionally and aesthetically.”

Two Waterstone Place, Miller-Valentine Group’s Cincinnati Office, is a project that, aesthetically speaking, breaks away from the traditional suburban office “box”. In addition to distancing themselves from the status quo visually, the client also developed a vision for a structure that was on the cutting edge in terms of sustainable site design. Part of MSP’s efforts in creating the client’s vision included the use of rain garden areas.

As a result of the incorporation of the rain gardens, Two Waterstone Place has added attractive landscapes to its design that feature a variety of native plants, reduce the amount of surface water runoff and help improve local water quality by removing pollutants.

For more information about rain gardens/bio-swale, visit:

Rain Garden Network
www.raingardennetwork.com

Grow Native!
www.grownative.org

10,000 Rain Gardens
www.rainkc.com