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Rain garden guidelines for southwest Ohio
Citation:
Dyke, D. AND W. D. SHUSTER. Rain garden guidelines for southwest Ohio. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Rain gardens are a unique and practical landscape feature that can enhance the beauty of home gardens. When properly installed, they are one method of limiting the negative effects of rainfall runoff in urban areas. Indeed, rain gardens turn a "negative" into a "positive" by capturing water runoff to nurture plants and recharge soils rather than allowing the water to flow into storm drains. This publication is intended to provide guidance for designing, constructing, and maintaining residential rain gardens. More detailed information on rain gardens can be found in the OSUE publication titled: "Guidelines for Utilizing Rain Gardens as a Storm Water Management Tool in the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati" [http://hamilton.osu.edu/Horticulture_Floriculture/guidelines-for-utilizing-rain-gardens]. The primary goal of a rain garden is to receive excess storm water runoff from impervious areas such as rooftops and driveways. Rain gardens give the runoff a place to go where it can recharge groundwater and not overload the storm sewer system, contribute to local flooding, or damage streams and other aquatic ecosystems.
