What is a Raingarden?
A raingarden is a shallow depression that collects rain water and allows it to infiltrate. It’s planted with plants that can tolerate a wide range of soil moisture. Raingardens reduce the volume of water that enters the storm sewer system and ultimately enters local water bodies. Raingardens not only reduce pollution from street runoff and infiltrate water back into the ground, but they also enhance home landscaping.
Who Can Install a Raingarden?
Installing a raingarden on your own. The City of Roseville encourages residents that are not on street improvement projects to consider installing a raingarden on their own. Most yards have room for a raingarden that can collect roof runoff. Some residents are also able to collect driveway runoff or runoff from a slope. Your local Watershed District may have cost share funding and technical assistance to help you install your raingarden.
Raingardens for developments and businesses. The City of Roseville encourages developers and businesses to consider raingardens when determining how best to infiltrate runoff from their site. Several developers and businesses have created beautiful raingardens in our community.
Rain barrels
Did you know that a moderate storm that dumps 1 inch of rain produces about 600 gallons of runoff from a roof surface of 1,000 square feet? Imagine the number of rooftops in your community and you can quickly see how much runoff is headed toward the storm drains, picking up pollutants common in urban areas along the way, and headed toward our lakes, streams and rivers. Rain barrels are one way of trapping some of this runoff. They are not only ecologically responsible, but they also help conserve water.
Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)