Mc Culloch Rain Garden

Managing Your Watershed

A Watershed is an area of land that drains to a common location or waterway.

Everyone lives in a watershed and is responsible for what drains into our waterways

What is a Watershed?

NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters.

Common NPS pollutants include sediment, oils, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, pet waste, animal waste, litter, greases, etc.

Our wetlands are dying out, a recent survey found that 70% were in unfavorable condition.

Non-Point Source Pollution

Stormwater best management practices (BMP’s) are control measures or actions

taken to mitigate changes or prevent the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff

from causing water pollution. Stormwater BMP’s can be classified as “structural”

or “non-structural” and can range from installations to changes in procedures.

There are many ways to implement BMP’s, and methods of doing so vary based on

the site and operation.

BMP’s and the Muncie Action Plan

According to the Muncie Action Plan (MAP), which was put together with the input

of nearly 2,000 city residents, it states under

Initiative 5- Managing Community Resources: Action Initiative 5.6

Implement Models of sustainable design around the city.

“Create downtown parks and other projects using sustainable design methods to

improve community amenities and to educate community members about water

quality and stormwater run-off, eco-balance, and climate-appropriate and native

plant selection.”

Best Management Practices (BMP’s)

Install a Rain Garden on your propertyInstall Rain Barrels at your downspoutsConsider a Green Roof!Plant native plants and flowers in your yardMaintain your septic systemPlant trees!Pick up after your petWash your car on your grassUse phosphate free soapsCompost organic matter such as leaves, grass

clippings, etc. and keep them off streets and sidewalks

Recommended BMP’s

A Rain Garden is a dug depression with gradually sloping sides that collects stormwater.

A Rain Garden is planted with native plants, flowers, sedges, shrubs and other native vegetation due to there tolerance to drought and standing water.

The native vegetation absorbs and filters stormwater run-off through its deep root systems.

Rain Gardens hold water for up to 24 hours and become dry between precipitation events.

A wildlife habitat!

What is a Rain Garden?

Catching stormwater in a rain garden allows it to slowly filter into the ground instead of becoming stormwater run-off on an impervious surface leading to stormwater pollution in our nearest waterway.

Rain Gardens encourages more water to recharge the water table underground.

Rain Gardens are planted with native vegetation encouraging new wild life habitat for beneficial birds, butterflies and insects.

Rain Gardens reduce the risk of potential health risks associated with stagnant water.

Why Rain Gardens?

Residential Rain Garden

Eco Rehab House

Residential Rain Garden

Residential Rain Garden

Residential Rain Garden

Residential Rain Garden

Residential Rain Garden

Residential Rain Garden

Rain Garden Excavation

HAND MACHINE

Rain Garden Installation

Rain Garden Installation

Rain Garden ProgressionExcavation with Clay

Amending soil with leaf compost

Planting of 160 3in. plugs

Three and half months old

Determine the amount of sun your rain garden will get so you may make the proper plant selection based on either full to partial shade tolerant plants.

Check out our suggested rain garden designs based on color preference:

Pink and PurplePurple and YellowPink and WhiteBird and ButterflyPartial Shade

Rain Garden designs can be viewed or downloaded by going to www.raingardenregistry.com and clicking on our Downloads & Publications center, scroll down and click on “rain garden sheets”.

Rain Garden Installation Continued

Spring/Fall Prune dead vegetation if applicable Cut and divide plants that get too large Weeding Add plants if desired Add mulch if necessary

Summer Weeding Water to help establish young plants Add mulch if needed Remove dead plants if necessary

Winter Dead vegetation and seed heads can provide shelter and food for birds

Weeds Typical weeds found in a rain garden include Purslane, Canada Thistle,

Clover, Prostrate Spurge, Crab Grass and Dandelion

Sources: Fort Wayne’s Catching Rain Program, Maintenance Brochure

Rain Garden Maintenance

Upon receiving a Center for Disease Control- Healthy Homes, Healthy People grant; Muncie Delaware Stormwater Management has focused on reducing health risks associated with flooding in the Whitely Neighborhood.

The three year grant included water quality monitoring, public education and neighborhood relationship building through rain barrel distributions and residential Rain Garden installations.

5 Demonstration Rain Gardens were installed at Mc Culloch Park, 2 large Rain Gardens were installed at Longfellow Elementary and Motivate Our Minds, and 70 residential Rain Gardens were installed throughout the Whitely Neighborhood; including 2 at the Roy C. Buley Center.

Grants & Rain Gardens

Roy C. Buley Center

Roy C. Buley Center

Roy C. Buley Center

Mc Culloch Park

Rain patterns show regular rain fall events occur during April, May and June just when vegetable gardens and perennial beds are being established

Reduce flooding in your yard by catching your roof run-off and slow releasing it or using it on dry days

Plants love rainwater over treated municipal waterCatching rainwater decreases stormwater from

picking up pollutants and entering storm drainsSave money and water!!!!! The average roof collects about 22,500 gallons of rain a year. Enough to fill 450 50 gallon rain barrels with free water!!!

Rain Barrels

Rain Barrels

North Street Urban Garden

Dual Rain Barrel Design

Native plants are ideal for a rain garden because they tolerate short periods of standing water, are drought tolerant, and their deep roots make it easy for the water to move into the soil. In other words; they’re native to this area and climate.

Other benefits include:Serving as non-polluting landscapes because they

don’t need fertilizers, pesticides or herbicidesServes as a wildlife habitat attracting beneficial

insectsGreat for companion planting near vegetable

gardens Winter hardy, and less prone to destructive insects

and disease

Why Native Plants

Native Plants Root Systems

Native plants have extensive root systems which improve the ability of the soil to

infiltrate water and withstand wet or erosive conditions. Illustration provided by the Conservation Research Institute.

A landscape element, often a planted vegetated strip along a street or parking lot, for the purpose of capturing surface water runoff and filtering out sediment and non-point source pollution before the storm water enters the drainage system or groundwater

BioSwales & Vegetated Buffers

Portland, OR Green Street

Portland, OR parking lot

Green Streets

Minneapolis-based Barr Engineering Company began working with the city of Burnsville, Minnesota, in early 2002 to develop a plan for improving the water quality of Crystal Lake by adding rainwater gardens to a 20-year-old neighborhood. To measure the effectiveness of the gardens, two nearly identical neighborhoods were chosen for the project: one to be “retrofitted” with 17 rainwater gardens, and the other, just one street away, to serve as a control site.

Green Infrastructure

County Plaza BMP’s•Bioretention basin/rain garden•Live Wall•Curb swale infiltration strip•Stormwater Catchment basins Before Picture

Minnetrista BMP’s

Rain Garden Porous Curb and Gutter

Rock Cascade Bio-Swale

City Hall Xeriscaping

A Xeriscaping landscape was installed surrounding

City Hall to help capture stormwater and encourage absorption in

the ground.

Youth Education

Camp Prairie Creek is a free youth environmental day camp hosted my Stormwater Management and Prairie Creek Reservoir. Camp happens every August and has graduated close to 150 local youth in environmental stewardship.

Roy C. Buley Center Rain Gardens

Mc Culloch Park Rain Gardens

Motivate Our Minds Rain Gardens

Downtown BMP projects

Potential Volunteer Opportunities

Queen of the Prairie Longfellow Rain

Garden City Hall Xeriscaping

MOM’S Butterfly Pavilion

Contact Info

Jason DonatiMuncie Delaware Stormwater ManagementStormwater EducatorOffice: 765-747-2660Cell: 765-716-2595Fax: 765-747-7711

VISIT US ONLINE AT

WWW.WISHTHEFISH.COM&

WWW.RAINGARDENREGISTRY.COM