Solution to Stormwater Runoff? Head to the Garden

When you flush your toilet, where does it all go? Chances are right into the city’s rivers. So what’s a solution to reducing runoff headed into the river?

Get down and dirty and build a rain garden.

“By reducing runoff in some areas, we can reduce the amount of sewage that we're dumping into our rivers” says Fort Wayne City Utilities spokesperson, Mary Jane Slaton.

Rain gardens slow water down and allow it to sink into the ground. They also help to filter pollutants out of storm water.

Twenty demo gardens are being built around the city, including one put in place just today at St. Francis University. There are also 50 residential ones so far, and the city hopes that number grows to 1000.

“Certainly 50 is a long way from 1000 but we'll keep working at it” Slaton says.

Here's how it works: rocks slow down the water, preventing erosion. Pollutants are soaked up from plants put in place. Then water soaks into the ground, evaporates into the air or flows into a nearby lake or river. This leaves bodies of water fresher, cleaner and less polluted.

 “We have a responsibility, us humans, on this earth to take of the environment” says Nick Morken who came out to St. Francis today to help install the new rain garden there.

Hilary Powers also helped out today. She says that “even though it's little, it's not little it's a huge project it's the little things that are going to add up.”

Trina Herber has a rain garden at her house in Waynedale. She thinks “it’s fantastic that people here in Fort Wayne are jumping on the green bandwagon.”

Fort Wayne experienced intense flooding this past winter.  These rain gardens are not a complete fix for flooding, but City Utilities says they certainly will help. There are many incentives to those homeowners that build a rain garden including free plants and free money. To find out more information head to http://catchingrainfw.org/