3. What is a Rain Garden?

4. Why Rain Gardens?
• Protect streams and Puget Sound
• Recharge groundwater
• Filter pollution and reduce local flooding
• Provide beneficial wildlife habitat
• Easy and inexpensive to install
• Attractive and need little maintenance
Rain garden at a Puyallup home

5. Pollutant Removal Rates
Pollutant Removal
Rate
Total Phosphorous 70-83%
Metals (Cu, Zn, Pb) 93-98%
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen 68-80%
Total Suspended Solids 90%
Organics (pesticides) 90%
Bacteria 90%
Source: Davis et al.1998 Rain garden at an Eatonville home

6. Rain Gardens Reduce Local Flooding
• Infiltrate stormwater
• Move water safely away
• Protect crawl spaces and
basements
• Clusters of rain gardens
protect neighborhoods Rain garden at a Puyallup home

7. Rain Garden Program
• Residential homeowner focus
• Classroom education
• Neighborhood installation events
• Assistance to jurisdictions
• Watershed approach
Steve is a homeowner in Puyallup Steve‘s rain garden and his neighbors

8. 2011
Class
Schedule

10. Rain Gardens Installed in Puget Sound
http://raindogdesigns.com
150 installed as of December 2011

13. City of Puyallup
Rain Garden Cluster
August 2009

15. 8th Ave Before

21. After

22. 8th Ave Before

28. After

30. Town of Eatonville
Rain Garden Cluster
May 2010

31. Baumgartner Place NE

33. Before

35. After

36. Before

39. After

41. Community Involvement and Participation
“Gardening With Ciscoe” Live Broadcast

42. Eatonville Library 2009

43. 2009

44. 2010

45. 2011

46. Town of Eatonville
Rain Garden Cluster
May 2011

48. Orchard Ave N
and
Hwy 161

50. Before
After

51. Before
After

53. Eatonville High
School Before

54. After

55. Before

56. Construction

57. After

59. Eatonville Stormwater Initiative

60. Nisqually Tribe