Stormwater that gushes off roofs and runs off driveways and roads during rain carries pollutants into local waterways, where it destroys habitat and ruins water quality. Rain gardens slow the deluge and filter pollutants before they reach streams and bays.
The Center for the Inland Bays is launching its campaign to create 1,000 rain gardens in the Inland Bays watershed to filter runoff, protect the bays and conserve fresh water.
Sally Boswell, education and outreach coordinator, said a Kansas City, Kan., program inspired the program. “We thought 10,000 rain gardens might be a little ambitious for our 321-square-mile Inland Bays watershed, but 1,000 seems very doable,” she said.
Boswell said the center hopes to see rain gardens in back yards, town halls, schools, churches and community areas. She said people will soon be able to register their gardens and obtain online resources for planting rain gardens, which are shallow, saucer-shaped areas designed to collect rainwater and prevent runoff.
Rain gardens are an efficient, cost-effective way to manage stormwater, said Boswell. They are also an accessible, affordable way for citizens to do their part to protect the bays while preserving fresh water, she said.
Traditional stormwater management techniques divert water off paved surfaces and direct it to streams that then carry it to the Inland Bays, she said. The rainwater itself is not polluted, but when it runs over paved surfaces, it picks up toxins and pollutants, which are what make stormwater such a significant environmental problem, she said.
That rush of water scours streams, destroys habitat and erodes stream banks, while carrying pollutants such as gasoline, oil, heavy metals, pesticides, waste and nutrients into sensitive waterways. That runoff will increase as land is developed, said Boswell.
Stormwater is one of the biggest threats to water quality, she said.
A house with 1,000 square yards of roof can dump 600 gallons of water from a rainstorm that produces one inch, according to the center. A rain garden planted with native plants slows down that rush of water, as the plants’ leaves break up its momentum and the roots draw up and filter water, she said. It’s a concept similar to a forested or shrub-planted buffer along a stream. More plant mass filters more water. “The important thing is getting the water into the ground quickly, allowing it to percolate into the soil, instead of running down driveways or over streets into storm drains,” said Boswell.
Rain gardens absorb more rainwater than lawns, filter nutrients and pollutants out, and let rainwater seep into the ground more slowly, replenishing aquifers, she said.
Gardens of native plants need less watering, fertilizer and pesticide. “An important part of our mission is habitat protection and restoration,” said Boswell. Native plants provide food and habitat for a variety of species native to the area, she said, and can be especially beneficial to important insects, such as butterflies and bees, key to pollinating for the agricultural industry.
The center is partnering with Environmental Protection Agency Region 3, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa., Delaware Nature Society, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Watershed Assessment Division, Sussex County Conservation District, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension and the University of Delaware Sea Grant program.
Learn more about rain gardens
The Center for the Inland Bays is sponsoring two free public events to launch the 1,000 rain gardens campaign. The first will be 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 6, at Millville Town Hall in Millville. The second will be 7 p.m., Thursday, May 14, at Good Earth Market on Route 26.
The center holds its fifth annual Gardening for the Bays Native Plant Sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, May 16, at James Farm Ecological Preserve on Cedar Neck Road in Ocean View.
Learn how to install a rain barrel, build a rain garden and hear apiarists speak about the importance of bees.
For more information, contact Sally Boswell at 226-8105 or outreach@inlandbays.org.
