Bioretention and Rain Gardens
Bioretention is an upland water quality and water quantity control practice that uses the chemical, biological and physical properties of plants, microbes and soils for removal of pollutants from storm water runoff. Some of the processes that may take place in a bioretention facility include: sedimentation, adsorption, filtration, volatilization, ion exchange, decomposition, phytoremediation, bioremediation, and storage capacity. This same principle of utilizing biological systems has been widely used in the retention and the transformation of pollutants and nutrients found in agricultural and wastewater treatment practices. Unlike various other practices that control only peak discharge, bioretention can be designed to mimic the pre-existing hydrologic conditions by treating the associated volumes of runoff (from bioretention.com).
A rain garden is a bowl-like depression in the ground, used to collect stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces, such as roofs and pavement, in order to infiltrate the ground rather than runoff into the stormwater system. Commonly, native plants are used to not only beautify this process, but also in combination with the mulch and soil, will assist in the natural processes to filter pollutants from runoff and break down in the soil over time (from Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service).
Fact Sheets
- Rain Garden Design for Homeowners, University of Nebraska
- Installing Rain Gardens in Your Yard, University of Nebraska
- Plant Selection for Rain Gardens in Nebraska, University of Nebraska
- Rain Gardens: A how-to manual for homeowners, University of Wisconsin Extension (please note that the plants recommended in this document are appropriate for Wisconsin, but may not be appropriate for Oklahoma climates)
- Start-to-Finish Rain Garden Design: A Workbook for Homeowners, Faribault County Minnesota
- Rain Gardens in Connecticut–a Design Guide for Homeowners, University of Connecticut
- Bioretention Performance, Design, Construction, and Maintenance, North Carolina State University
- Designing Rain Gardens (Bioretention Areas), North Carolina State University
- Bioretention Applications: Inglewood Demonstration Project, Largo, Maryland, Florida Aquarium, Tampa, Florida, EPA
- Bioretention, EPA
- Oklahoma Plant Database, NEMO Program
Bulletins, Journal Articles, and Handbooks
- Minnesota Stormwater Manual — Bioretention, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
- San Antonio River Basin Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual, San Antonio River Authority
- Bioretention Manual, The Prince George’s County, Maryland
- Caring for your Vegetated Stormwater Facilities, Montgomery County, Maryland
- Beautiful, Hard-working Rain Gardens, Resource Media
- Bioretention Cell Construction, Chavez, Brown and Storm, OSU Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
- Impacts of Construction Activity on Bioretention Performance, Brown and Hunt, 2010. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
- Green Infrastructure Design Standards for in-street traffic calming devices that collect and infiltrate stormwater, Watershed Management Group
- Plants for Stormwater Design, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency