Rain Garden Block Party a great success!

Written by Eric Karch Saturday, July 30th, 2011 1:54 PM

Last Updated on Sunday, December 18th, 2011 8:03 PM

An estimated 200 people braved a soaking rain to come see newly installed rain gardens and learn how to build one of their own. Seven gardens were installed on six properties, all in one University City block, to relieve the downhill neighbor of significant yard and basement flooding issues.

Experts led guests on tours of the gardens, then browsed several information booths on a wide variety of garden-related subjects. Armed with with plenty of advice from local landscapers, contractors, botanists and plant experts from the Missouri Botanical Garden, many guests left determined to install their own rain garden and join the effort to improve the region's water quality and bird habitat.

This is one of five demonstration projects installed by the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, and the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance with the following goals:

• Implement plant-based demonstration projects that reduce water pollution in the Deer Creek Watershed.
• Capture, treat, and detain stormwater runoff from 90% of the recorded daily rainfall events, which is based on a rainfall amount of 1.14 inches.
• Measure and document, over a five year period, the effectiveness of the demonstration projects.

See photos of this and other St. Louis area demonstration projects at http://deercreekalliance.org/demoprojects.aspx