Rain gardens promise many benefits for home owners

By Peter H. Milliken

Rain gardens capture and filter storm water and provide wildlife habitat.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Soil and Water Conservation District has installed a rain garden as a flood control measure and as a demonstration project to educate the public about its value.

The garden is a sunken, landscaped area planted with perennial plants, such as black-eyed Susans, that grow well in wet conditions.

“Rain gardens are not only aesthetically pleasing and they increase property value, but they also serve a function, and that’s to filter out pollutants from storm water,” before it enters streams and lakes, said Kathi Vrable-Bryan, SWCD administrator.

“It conserves natural resources and prevents soil erosion, and anything of that nature, we would want to be involved with,” said Jim Petuch, director of the Mahoning County Recycling Division, which provided a grant for the project.

Rain gardens can be installed in residential backyards, Petuch said. “It’ll prevent a lot of the flooding and the ponding that people have,” he added.

Such gardens capture and filter storm water from rooftops, driveways and parking lots, enhance the appearance of yards, provide a wildlife habitat and recharge the ground water supply, according to SWCD.

The 750-square-foot garden was installed at the SWCD office, 850 Industrial Road, which occupies a former used car lot.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com