A beautiful solution for water pollution Rainscaping

By Susan McManN

OSU Ext. master gardener volunteer

Fresh water is one of our most valuable resources, if not the most valuable one. As most all of us are aware life on our beautiful planet, cannot exist without water.

Contrary to what some may believe, there is a limited supply of fresh water. Water cannot be created or destroyed, but can be contaminated. The water present today on Earth is the same water that existed thousands of years ago and it is this water that will exist in the future.

One problem related to water contamination resulted from urban development. As cities grow and develop, the natural landscape, which originally absorbed and filtered rain water and snow-melt has been modified. The result is buildings and roads that do not absorb the rainfall and snow-melt that large vegetative fields once did.

Consequently, as rain falls and snow melts on these surfaces, water runs off through storm sewers and onward to streams, rivers and waterways. En route, the water picks up and transports whatever it runs into. Fertilizers, chemicals, oils on roadways, pet waste, etc. All of this ultimately winds up in our sensitive waterways.

Storm sewer runoff has been blamed for many urban and suburban problems, including increased flooding, damaged stream banks and fish habitat, and polluted streams, lakes and estuaries.

One way to decrease the amount of water going into waterways is through rainscaping. Rainscaping is a simple and resourceful landscaping design in which rain barrels, and rain gardens are using as much rain water as possible from gutters. The intended result is less water channeled to the storm sewer system and ultimately our waterways.

The rain barrel is an ancient practice which is making a comeback. Rain barrels involve either attaching or placing a barrel close to a down spout where rain water from a roof is diverted into the barrel.

Some reasons for collecting rain water in barrels include:

A low-cost water conservation system that can reduce peak rain runoff.

Providing water storage for use in gardens and reduce municipal water use. This can be very useful during dry seasons. However, untreated water from rain barrels shouldn’t be used in gardens where food is grown. That’s because rain water from roofs contains a large amount of ecoli from bird droppings that are washed off the roof and into the rain barrel. Naturally, infrequent rains make for higher concentrations of ecoli. Thus, the resulting water should only be used on annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. The biggest risk for contamination is leafy greens, then anything that has fruit which may come in contact with splashing water from the ground.

Using rain barrels can delay the need to expand storm sewer systems and help reduce flooding.

For details on the benefits of a rain barrel and the plans to make your own, visit go.osu.edu/rainbarrel.

Join us next Thursday to learn how to build a rain barrel – maybe you’ll win one we’re giving away that night. Details available at go.osu.edu/celebratewater.