Blaine raingarden open house is Monday July 11
Blaine Spring Lake Park Life - Tim Hennagir
Blaine residents will get a first-hand opportunity to see how a yard low spot can help the environment by attending a rain garden open house Monday, July 11.
Experts will be on hand from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the city’s demonstration rain garden at 12309 Goodhue St. N.E., said Jim Hafner, stormwater manager.
The Anoka Conservation District (ACD), a Ham Lake-based, non-regulatory county level subdivision of state government, is also participating in the event.
Rain gardens are simply a garden that is a slight depression, planted with native plants that grow well even if they are temporarily flooded, according to Hafner.
Gardens collect rainwater runoff and allow water to soak into the ground.
At the same time, a unique mix of garden plants provides landscaping beauty and attracts wildlife.
According to Hafner, rain gardens have been seen as a helpful solution to the water quality problem caused by rainwater runoff.
Recent changes in stormwater regulations require runoff to be captured where it falls. Before society started to build roads, buildings, parking lots and other hard surfaces, Hafner said the rainwater would be caught up by trees, plants, grasses and fields, with the excess soaking into the ground.
Rain gardens can be small or large and filled with a diversity of plants or a simple few varieties, he said. They can be located in any number of places as long as they are strategically located in the low areas where water tends to collect.
With careful planning, plants in the garden can attract wildlife and birds.
Rain gardens are quite simple and can be easy to construct on your own if you are a do-it-yourselfer; or can be contracted to any number of companies who specialize in constructing rain gardens, Hafner said.
The typical cost of plants and compost used in a residential rain garden is $600.
If the garden is located near a city street, a curb cut is used to effectively channel the water into the garden. In Blaine, public works crews complete the curb cut work at no charge, Hafner said.
“That’s part of the agreement the property owner has because this type of rain garden gets put into the existing right of way owned by the city,” Hafner said.
The purpose of Monday’s event is to let people see what a rain garden looks like, he said.
Experts will also be on hand to answer questions from the public.
For more information about rain gardens in general or the open house at 12309 Goodhue St. N.E., contact Hafner at 763-785-6188 or e-mail jhafner@ci.blaine.mn.us.
Tim Hennagir is at tim.hennagir@ecm-inc.com
Posted: July 7, 2011