Riverscape Rain Gardens for Clean Water
Transform your yard into a beautiful, native rain garden to conserve and clean water
Riverscaping at Mosier School in the Gorge
When it rains hard and you see water running off the streets into storm drains, chances are it’s headed straight toward the river or to an over-flowing sewage treatment plant. That means any trash, lawn fertilizers and pesticides, oil and grease etc. can go straight into the nearest stream or river. You can help the problem by redirecting run-off from your gutter into a ‘rain garden.’ Rain gardens or dry-wetlands help filter water, cleaning it up while it seeps slowly into groundwater and trickles downstream.
Native Rain Garden at Columbia Riverkeeper office on 724 Oak St., Hood River OR
Native plants help conserve water as they are well-adapted to the climate and do not need to be watered as much as most lawns do, plus they provide good habitat for birds, squirrels, and insects. If you must have a lawn, there are soft, green grasses that are more drought resistant – check out the grass demo project on the upper West side of the Hood River library and contact the Hood River Watershed Group with questions: 541-386-6063, hrwg@gorge.net
If you live in Portland, the city has a great Downspout Disconnection program and will reimburse you with $53 for disconnecting your gutter run-off from the sewer system. Check out http://www.portlandonline.com/oni/index.cfm?c=cijjc
We are currently working on several new projects in the Portland/Vancouver area up through the Columbia Gorge and are always looking for volunteers to help us construct, plant, and maintain those sites. If you're willing to get your hands dirty and have some fun, CRK's Riverscaping projects are a way you can get involved to immediately help decrease stormwater pollution while creating cutting edge demonstration projects for pollution control.
Questions?
Rachael Pecore
Science & Volunteer Programs Director
rachael@columbiariverkeeper.org
541-387-3030 (office)
541-399-1307 (cell)
Columbia Riverkeeper
724 Oak Street
Hood River, OR 97031
(541) 387-3030
Fax (541) 387-3029
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