Every time a new building shoots up in the skyline of an urban area, it poses augmented threat to the natural ambience of the place. Hence it becomes mandatory for the building to incorporate some green technology to restore the balance of nature. Rain garden is one such technology.
The first rain gardens were developed in the residential areas in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States in the year 1990.A rain garden is a shallow depression that is planted with deep-rooted native plants and grasses. The garden should be positioned near a runoff source like a downspout, driveway or sump pump to capture rainwater runoff and stop the water from reaching the sewer system. Run-off is the part of the precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation water that appears in uncontrolled and unregulated surface streams, rivers, drains or sewers.
The structure of rain garden is designed to capture certain depths of rainwater, which then naturally filters through dirt and tree roots to remove hydrocarbon from run-off. Rain gardens vary significantly depending on the storm size, the area of the country, application, and are often located near a building’s roof drainpipe or endpoint of drainage with a capacity to percolate all incoming water through a series of soil layers beneath the surface plantings. The primary challenge of rain garden design centres on calculating the types and acceptable loads of pollutants it can handle during storm-water events. When designed correctly, rain gardens can remove more than 95 percent of total suspended solids, as well as 75 percent or more of nitrogen and phosphorus. Native and adapted plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more tolerant of one’s local climate, soil, and water conditions; have deep and variable root systems for enhanced water infiltration, and sustainability.
Root systems enhance infiltration, maintain and augment soil permeability, drought tolerance, provide moisture redistribution and sustain diverse microbial populations involved in bio filtration. Also, through the process of transpiration, rain garden plants return water vapour to the atmosphere and aid in improving rain pattern. Rain gardens are beneficial for many reasons: improve water quality by filtering runoff, provide localized flood control, and are aesthetically pleasing. They encourage wildlife and biodiversity, allows a household or building to deal with excessive rainwater runoff without burdening the public storm water systems, tying together buildings and their surrounding environments in attractive and environmentally advantageous way.
Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks and streams by up to 30%; therefore rain garden is simple and effective green technology gaining popularity.
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