Operations Center Rain Garden
A rain garden is a depression in the landscape that collects rain water from a hard surface such as a roof, driveway or street and allows it to soak into the ground. Planted with native shrubs, sedges and flowering perennials, rain gardens help filter out pollutants in runoff. They can be a cost effective and beautiful way to reduce runoff while providing food and shelter for native animals.
Clark Public Utilities’ Operation Center rain garden is a demonstration site, designed and installed by employees, which uses a natural bioswale to capture and treat all roof water runoff in an environmentally friendly way. The lush landscape provides additional education opportunities for visitors and school tour groups and a natural habitat for native wildlife.
For more information on how to build your own rain garden, check out Washington State University Extension’s rain garden website. It has everything you need to know about rain gardens; from the basics of how they work to building your own.