A three-year grant program to fund rain gardens in metropolitan Adelaide has wrapped up, with 32 of the stormwater filtration systems installed across 11 council areas.
Rain gardens use plants and layers of sandy material to remove pollutants from the stormwater running off hard surfaces such as roads and carparks, improving the quality of the water that reaches the sea.
Pollution from stormwater is a major killer of seagrass, which is vital to the health of the marine environment.
Most of the rain gardens funded through the Environment Protection Authority’s Rain Gardens 500 program were installed in public spaces and on roadsides, but two were built in schools and another two on private business premises.
Councils across the Adelaide area took part, with Adelaide City Council, City of Unley, City of West Torrens, City of Mitcham, City of Holdfast Bay, City of Charles Sturt, City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters, City of Onkaparinga, City of Salisbury, and Light Regional Council all involved.
Native plants like sedges, rushes and grasses all make great base species for rain gardens, but native flowering shrubs and trees can be added as well to create something that is attractive as well as useful.
One of the best things about rain gardens is that they don’t need to be large to be effective: they can be as small as one parking space, or even just a single tree in a specially designed pit.
They can also be created in suburban backyards to help manage the water coming off roofs (subject to council by-laws), driveways and paved areas.
Rain Gardens 500 was a Catchment to Coast project, funded through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
You can find more information on the rain garden program here, including how to create your own.
