If you’re looking for inspiration to improve water quality and reduce supplemental watering in your own landscape, rain gardens may be a great option. These systems naturally irrigate landscapes using rainwater while reducing pollutants and providing habitats for native flora and fauna.  

Rain gardens are designed to utilize rainwater from roofs or other non-permeable surfaces by moving it into subsurface depressions among low-water perennials and grasses. They work by directing stormwater into the landscape and allowing it to slowly infiltrate the soil which minimizes the need for supplemental irrigation in those planting areas.  

In addition to water savings, rain gardens improve water quality from runoff in areas such as parking lots or areas with heavy sheet flow during storm events. As rainwater seeps into the soil, pollutants are filtered through layers of plants, soil and sand, preventing them from reaching rivers and lakes through the storm drain system. This aids in protecting local water bodies against harmful pollutants, such as fertilizers, pesticides and animal waste. Commercially, most rain gardens work in conjunction with detention ponds to further slow the flow of storm water into the storm drain system, improving the water quality downstream. As a bonus, rainwater typically soaks into the soil within 24 hours, preventing the breeding of mosquitoes.