They determined these gardens are great tools for storm water management.
Ellen Slone, executive director at the Fairborn Senior Center, said it’s been easier to walk across the Fairborn Senior Center Parking lot in the rain, since they built the gardens.
“It’s been really exciting,” said Slone. “It’s that we don’t have all these big huge puddles of water in our parking lot and people don’t have to trip through those.”
That dirty water now seeps into the gardens, instead of nearby Hebble Creek.
“The majority of pollutants that come off your roofs, driveways, parking lots, come in the first few minutes of a storm event,” said Jim Mason BW Greenway trustee. “What you’re trying to do is capture these and prevent them from getting into streams and waterways.”
Hydro geologist Brent Huntsman monitored the water flow in the gardens. He found a rain garden helps slow water on its journey and filter the pollutants.
“It helps the amount of water that gets to the stream,” said Huntsman. “It helps the quality of the water that gets to the stream.”
Rain garden benefits come from their construction.
“They’re dug down about two feet and there’s a drain pipe that goes through,” said Mason. “They have gravel in there and they’ll handle somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 to 5000 gallons of water.”
The plants in a rain garden are deep rooted and absorb more water. The Fairborn Senior Center Rain Gardens hold native plants.
People who construct their own rain garden should place it 10 feet away from the house, near downspouts, driveways or other low points that collect water.
They should never place a rain garden on septic tank leach fields or over utility lines.
With proper placement and construction a rain garden can even hold up to drought. The water filters through the spongy soil so slowly that it’s still flowing into streams during droughts.
“So, you’re helping keep the stream up, while you’re taking care of the runoff,” said Huntsman.