Wood Ducks in Cherokee Park

On my Sunday run through Cherokee Park I spotted a pair of brilliant Wood Ducks swimming in the Beargrass Creek along Cherokee Park Road (north of Big Rock). The male Wood Duck has an iridescent green and purple head that make for quick identification. Not only did the Beargrass shape the rolling hills of the park, but it also serves as a refuge to diverse wildlife in the city.

Unfortunately, Louisville is still serviced by an out-dated combined sewer system. This means that during heavy rain events raw sewage along with storm water is released directly into creek. The sewage compromises water quality and safety for everything that comes into contact with the water.  An important step homeowners can take to reduce storm water from their residence is to construct a rain garden. A rain garden captures the rain from our roofs, driveways and lawns then slowly filters and returns the water into the ground. This prevents excess water from entering the storm water system and eventually Beargrass Creek.

A rain garden not only serves as an attractive feature to your lawn, but also helps to enhance the quality, diversity and character of Louisville’s urban wildlife. Put a rain garden in this spring; we all need to do our part to protect and restore Kentucky’s waterways and wildlife!

Nate

Rain Garden Overview

What is a Rain Garden?

A rain garden is a small area in a residential yard or neighborhood designed to temporarily hold and soak in rain water that comes from a house roof, driveway or patio. A rain garden is not a pond or wetland. It is dry most of the time and holds and filters water after a rain. Rain water is routed to the garden and filtered naturally by the plants and soils of the garden. Rain gardens typically are planted with a mixture of perennial flowers, ornamental grasses and woody shrubs that are adapted to wet and dry conditions. Water collected in the rain garden slowly infiltrates into the soil to support plant growth. In a properly sited and designed rain garden standing water disappears in less than 48 hours.

Benefits of Rain Gardens

Roof tops, sidewalks, driveways and patios do not allow rainfall to infiltrate into the soil. These impervious areas increase the amount of runoff from urban areas which can cause flooding and carry pollutants to surface water. Polluted runoff, including excess lawn and garden fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, yard wastes, sediment, and animal wastes, drains daily into our storm sewers and endangers these water resources. Rain gardens can capture runoff from these areas and reduce the effect of flooding and runoff pollution. In addition, rain gardens provide many visual benefits, including diverse plantings of native flowers, grasses and ornamental plants. The raised berms in the rain garden also add height, contrast, and texture to level areas to create an attractive garden view.

Quick Facts

-Nearly 70% of the pollution in our streams and lakes comes from storm water.

-Properly designed rain gardens can trap and retain up to 99% of common pollutants in runoff.

-Rain gardens deter mosquitoes because the rain water drains quickly and leaves the mosquito eggs to dry out.

-Rain gardens provide a desirable habitat that attracts birds and butterflies.

Contact the Boone Gardiner Green Team at 502.243.3832 to learn more about how to create a Rain Garden

Rain Garden Presentation

Thanks for all who came out to the presentation! We look forward to a continued dialogue on rain gardens and other sustainable practices.