Here in Western Oregon, we usually don’t run out of rain.
In some ways, that’s not a good thing. Much of the rain that falls on urban areas passes over roads, parking lots, and construction sites. Along the way it picks up some nasty stuff before entering our streams and rivers.
“As our landscapes became developed, rain falling on hard surfaces was directed to pipes, ditches and storm drains that route to streams or into stormwater sewer systems,” says Rob Emanuel of the OSU Extension Service. “The result is too much water arriving in a short amount of time and carrying pollutants.”
Which is why Emanuel and others want to show homeowners how to install rain gardens. They help restore some balance to the water cycle.
Emanuel is one of three co-authors of the, “Oregon Rain Garden Guide: Landscaping for Clean Water and Healthy Streams”. This free booklet gives step-by-step instructions on where to locate a rain garden, how to construct it, and what type of plants to use. The information is designed to work with Oregon’s wet season/dry season climate.
Rain gardens act like a native forest, meadow or prairie.
“They capture and redirect stormwater from hard surfaces such as roof tops, driveways, parking lots and streets,” says co-author Derek Godwin. “Rain gardens help keep watersheds healthy by filtering out toxins before they pollute streams and lakes, and they can actually recharge aquifers by encouraging water to soak into the ground.”
The guide is available through Oregon Sea Grant. It’s available as a PDF or HTML file. The HTML version downloads faster, but doesn’t have illustrations.
