Chalco Hills Rain Garden

A rain garden is a depressed area in the landscape that collects rain water from a roof, driveway or street and allows it to soak into the ground. Planted with grasses and flowering perennials, rain gardens can be a cost effective and beautiful way to reduce runoff from your property. Rain gardens can also help filter out pollutants in runoff and provide food and shelter for butterflies, song birds and other wildlife.

More complex rain gardens with drainage systems and amended soils are often referred to as bioretention.

Note: Refer to the links in this section for important tips on how to locate your rain garden. These include areas to avoid and the need for accurate information about underground utilities before you begin to dig.

Information About Rain Gardens

Rain Gardens, Green Infrastructure, U.S. EPA

Bioretention Illustrated: A Visual Guide for Constructing, Inspecting, Maintaining and Verifying the Bioretention Practice, 2013, Chesapeake Stormwater Network (pdf) (7.8 MB)

Water-Smart Landscape Design Tips, Water Sense
Information about plant selection, soils, and maintenance.

• What To Plant Database for native plants in your area

Woody Shrubs for Stormwater Retention Practices, Cornell University, 2014 (pdf) (33.2 MB)

Rain Garden Outreach and Communication How-to-Guide, Resource Media (pdf) (2.4 MB)

Local resources

https://water.unl.edu/article/lawns-gardens-landscapes/proven-rain-garden-plants-nebraska

https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/LTU/Utilities/Watershed-Management/Sustainable-Landscapes/Rain-Gardens