A rain garden is a small water catchment area, mostly built-in residential. It is a very affordable design used for water collection from rooftops and runways. It consists of deep-rooted native plants that can contain soil erosion. It is usually set on a natural slope and holds water for twelve to forty-eight hours. They are useful and can remove up to 90% of chemicals and nutrients and 80% of sediments from rainwater runoff. Additionally, it creates beautiful scenery that attracts birds, insects, and other wildlife. Help reduce drainage problems in the streets as well as control flooding in the compound. A rain garden also improves the quality of your rainwater as it traps contaminants and other pollutants and absorbs them. According to stormwater experts, a rain garden should be approximately 20% of the roof or 100 to 400 square feet. Nevertheless, a rain garden has its pros and cons that determine whether it is a useful project or whether there are other better ways of containing rainwater storms. The advantages generated by a rain garden outweigh the costs involved in its setup. Building a rain garden requires little funding as compared to other setups like the drainage system. The budget varies depending on different factors like the type of soil, the location, and the plants you want to incorporate into the project. How deep rain gardens are dug depends on the kind of soil of that place (Vineyard et al., 2015). Black silt and rocky soils require one that is deep. This is to enable the roots of the garden plants to be firmly deep-rooted on the grounds since rocky soils do not support plant growth. When constructing a rain garden on your own, the cost of 100 to 400 square feet ranges from $1 to 5$ per square foot or $100 to $2000 depending on the factors enlisted above (Costhelper, 2019). For an institutional or commercial rain garden, a budget range of $10 to $40 per square foot is set considering the need to meet government regulations and the hiring costs. Thus, it is an attractive project to set up in a residential commercial, or institutional environment. Rain gardens usually occupy a tiny space an estimated, 20%. Therefore, they enhance the utilization of the compound. One retains its parking area and playground. They leave space for other agricultural activities you would like in your surroundings. The maintenance requirements associated with rain gardens are minimal. It only requires weeding for the first year or two and watering the plants daily in case it is not a rainy season up to when they are deep-rooted ( Siwiec et al. , 2018). Besides, the vegetation planted in the garden does not require fertilizers to grow; most of the shrubs usually develop on their own. Also, the green project reduces the speed of the runoff water and the volume once the plants have matured. A rain garden is also easy to install, reconstruct as well as modernize. Coming up with your rain garden requires choosing the best location in your backyard, planting the right plants, and preparing the field where you are going to set it up. Later, you can demolish the whole structure at ease, uproot the plants and transfer it to a different place within your place. They store rainwater for a short period, 12-48 hours; thus, they do not provide grounds for the breeding of mosquitos. Rain gardens are usually dry most of the time, unlike speed bumps that store water for an extended period. Rain gardens can lead to reduced pollution. In places located close to companies that emit pollutants like insecticides and grease, a rain garden can reduce the amounts released. The plants produce pleasant scents into the air while the roots will absorb the oil and any other passengers in the contaminated water ( Basdeki et al., 2016) . Despite the tremendous benefits, rain gardens have their weaknesses. One of them is that it can clog. If the landscape around is not well managed, pollutants can build up and lead to clogging. Some residential places are so close to dumping sites. If the wastes are not properly disposed of, they will find their way into the drainage system that joins the trench into rain gardens ( Katsifarakis et al., 2015) . This will reduce their effectiveness. In this scenario, water will then overflow to your residence, which can cause water pollution and other destruction. Impact on volume reduction. Since they are always small in size, rain gardens might only have a measurable effect on reducing the volume of rainwater. This implies that they cannot be entirely dependent on reducing the effect rainwater can have in flooding situations. They are not preferred on slopes that are too steep ( Gulsrudet al., 2018) . Rain gardens tend to perform better in places that have natural slopes. In areas that are too steep, the rainwater exerts a lot of pressure such that it is not easy to contain its force. Since most rain gardens are shallow depressions, the water will fill them and then overflow into the entire backyard. They need constant management. Rain gardens need close control and regular watering for the first two years. When you have built it during the dry season, it is required you water it daily for two years. This can be tiresome. Moreover, if one lives in a place where there are wild animals, for example, they need to keep off the wildlife that can destroy the beautiful structures. Failure to water the garden built during the dry season can make them dry up as well. This will require purchasing other trees, thus an additional cost.
Conclusion
Rain gardens help reduce cases of running water getting into our homes, destroying property, or causing floods in the streets. The costs of building them are also small, and the process is simple. The benefits of having this green project like attracting wildlife, absorbing runoff waters, and creating a beautiful landscape outweigh what is required to set them up, which is less than three thousand dollars. From the statistics of already set-up and running rain gardens that are easy to construct, they do not need technical skills apart from institutional and industrial gardens that require professionals.
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References
Basdeki, A., Katsifarakis, L., & Katsifarakis, K. L. (2016). Rain Gardens as integral parts of urban sewage systems-a case study in Thessaloniki, Greece. Procedia Engineering , 162 , 426-432.
Vineyard, D., Ingwersen, W. W., Hawkins, T. R., Xue, X., Demeke, B., & Shuster, W. (2015). Comparing green and grey infrastructure using life cycle cost and environmental impact: a rain garden case study in Cincinnati, OH. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association , 51 (5), 1342-1360.
Berglund, P. (2018). Cost-benefit analysis for sustainable stormwater management - A case study for Masthuggskajen, Gothenburg. UPPSALA Universitet. http://www.w-program.nu/filer/exjobb/Petter_Berglund.pdf
Gulsrud, N. M., Raymond, C. M., Rutt, R. L., Olafsson, A. S., Plieninger, T., Sandberg, M., & Jönsson, K. I. (2018). ‘Rage against the machine’? The opportunities and risks concerning the automation of urban green infrastructure. Landscape and urban planning , 180 , 85-92.
Katsifarakis, K. L., Vafeiadis, M., & Theodossiou, N. (2015). Sustainable drainage and urban landscape upgrading using rain gardens. Site selection in Thessaloniki, Greece. Agriculture and agricultural science procedia , 4 , 338-347.
Siwiec, E., Erlandsen, A. M., & Vennemo, H. (2018). City greening by rain gardens-costs and benefits. Ochrona Srodowiska i Zasobów Naturalnych , 29 (1), 1-5.
