Stephanie\'s inspiring presentation covered the Brook Run Neighborhood Rain Garden project, but also the larger issue of stewardship for the greater good of your community.

1. Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District
64th Annual Banquet & Supervisors’ Election
October 21, 2010
Rain Gardens: A Partnership
Neighborhood Project

2. Strategic Planning & Inspiration
Photos: Courtesy
of Mom

3. Strategic Planning & Inspiration
Photo: from
www.soil.ncsu.edu
Fires occurred on the Cuyahoga River in
1868, 1883, 1887, 1912, 1922, 1936, 1941,
1948, 1952, & 1969.
Photo from Ohio Historical Society website.
Hugh Hammond Bennett Cuyahoga River fire of 1952

4. Inspiration for this project
Photos from www.burnsville.org
Burnsville, MN Rain Garden Project

5. • Water quality
• Water quantity
Higher water temperatures and changes in
extremes, including floods and droughts, are
projected to affect water quality and
exacerbate many forms of water pollution…
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water,
April 2008
Why rain gardens?
• Aesthetics
• Wildlife habitat

6. Rain Garden Stats
• 2006: Installed demo rain garden at ODNR Div. of
Wildlife (only 3 other known rain gardens in central
Ohio at the time)
• Oct. 2007: CORGI formed
• End of 2008:
– 23 rain gardens in Franklin County
– Collecting 800,000 gallons of storm water annually
• Today:
– 146 rain gardens in Franklin County
– Collecting 9,680,000 gallons of storm water annually

7. Rain Garden Stats
21The Brook Run project has added rain
gardens, collecting gallons of
storm water per year!
2,700,000

8. Partners
• Grant partners: Franklin Soil and Water, CORGI,
Westerville, OSU, Watershed Organic, Ohio EPA
OEEF, and OWDA
Pictured: OSU students Phil
Cherosky & Kevin White and
OSU President Gordon Gee
Franklin Soil and Water
Franklin County Commissioners
Franklin County Master
Gardeners
Heart of Ohio RC&D Council
NRCS
City of Columbus
City of Delaware
City of Dublin
City of Gahanna
City of Grove City
City of Marysville
City of Westerville
MORPC
BBC&M Engineering
Malcolm Pirnie
Tetra Tech
Urban Wild
URS Corp.
Williams Creek Consulting
Brown and Caldwell
Sierra Club, Ohio Chapter
Friends of the Lower
Olentangy
Watershed
Friends of Alum Creek and
Tributaries
CORGI Members

9. Partners
Our Brook Run residents:
Ms. Lacy Ms. Pospichel
Mr. & Mrs. Jefferson Mr. & Mrs.
Neff
Mr. & Mrs. Greenman Mr. & Mrs. Bonds
Mr. & Mrs. Murray Mr. & Mrs. Zuk
Mr. & Mrs. Dickerson Mr. & Mrs. Burnam
Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Mr. Dennis
Mr. & Mrs. Reynolds Mr. & Mrs. Roach

10. OEEF portion
• Created 5,000 brochures & printed 10,000
more
• Launched website
• Educational workshops
in 4 neighborhoods
• Chose 1 neighborhood
• Outreach through media & presentations
• Installed 16 residential rain gardens
• Monitoring storm water runoff quantity

11. OWDA portion
• Control & experimental neighborhood
• Installed 5 right-of-way rain gardens
• Sampling wells
• Monitoring storm water runoff quantity
• Modeling predictions to help communities

12. Residential installations

13. Residential gardens

14. Residential gardens

15. Right of way installations

16. Right of way gardens

17. Monitoring equipment

18. What this means
10,000,000 gallons of storm water:
• Improving stream health
• Lowering flooding potentials
• Examples for landowners, municipalities,
technical professionals, & local
organizations
• Improving ground water
• Improving aesthetics
• Creating habitat

19. Opportunities
• Cost-share programs for rain gardens:
– Canal Winchester
– Gahanna
– Grove City
– Westerville
• Technical assistance
• Become a member of CORGI!

20. Thank You!
Photo: www.darbycreeks.org Photo: ©CL Evans
Photo: from
Flower Calendar