Special Feature —
Go with the Flow: Managing Water with Rain
by Nina A. Koziol
Have you noticed that once thunderstorms are in the forecast the weather reports often seem ominous? For example, “The National Weather Service cautions that tens of millions face flooding threat across Midwest.” And, “Multiple rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms may cause widespread flooding and rivers will continue to rise!” That’s just two of countless dire warnings announced this past fall in Illinois. You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again. Floods are an inevitable natural event. They are the most common natural disaster in Illinois, accounting for well over 90 percent of declared disasters. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources estimates that over 250,000 buildings are located on Illinois floodplains. And, according to Chicago meteorologist Tom Skilling,“flooding is definitely getting worse.” With increasing development and extensive, non-porous surfaces in urban and suburban areas—streets, sidewalks, alleys, patios, parking lots, malls, and a sea of rooftops—the problem is not going away. You
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don’t need to live in a designated floodplain area to experience standing water or flooding. Ed Beaulieu, vice president of research at Aquascape, told ILCA members at the 2017 Impact Conference, “Water is an asset, but one inch of rain on an acre produces 27 thousand gallons of water. Sustainable water practices need not be doom and gloom—it’s our job to educate people.” As leaders in the green industry, ILCA members are in prime position to help address these challenges. Even if you (or your clients) don’t experience record-breaking floods, standing water may be present after a heavy thunderstorm. The neighbor’s
The Landscape Contractor January 2019
property may drain into the adjacent lot or worse—along another home’s foundation. Rain barrels or cisterns—large water-holding tanks connected to a gutter downspout—may be one solution. They are an easy and inexpensive way to capture and store water coming off a roof—and that excess water can and should be used to water garden beds and lawns. And then there are rain gardens—another effective way to capture runoff.
What is a rain garden?
Rain gardens are a type of stormwater management practice that protects, restores and simulates the natural water cycle. In its most basic form, a rain garden is a depression in the ground that’s filled with sand, topsoil and compost and planted with native perennials and grasses that allow water to slowly seep deep into the ground. Besides addressing the flooding issue, putting water back into the soil helps to recharge underground aquifers and reduces surface runoff, which can contain pesticides and herbicides, to streams and rivers.