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Region of the Great Bend of the Wabash River Watershed
2014 Rain Garden Project
Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Sponsored by:
Wabash River Enhancement Corporation
200 N. 2nd Street
Lafayette, Indiana 47901
Contact Sara Peel for project details at
[email protected] or (765) 337-9100
www.wabashriver.net
www.facebook.com/WabashRiver
Funded by:
Lake and River Enhancement Program
Division of Fish and Wildlife
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
402 W. Washington Street, W-273
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Contact Ashlee Haviland for project information
[email protected] or TEL: 317-234-8348
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Region of the Great Bend of the Wabash River Watershed 2014 Rain Garden Project
Tippecanoe County, Indiana 1. Project Description and Purpose The Region of the Great Bend of the Wabash River Watershed Rain Garden project is located within Tippecanoe County, Indiana (Figure 1). The project included design and installation of 20 rain gardens at six project locations throughout Greater Lafayette. The purpose of this project was to address roof drainage and overland flow while providing the Tippecanoe County-required one-half inch of percolation per hour. Native plants were used in each rain garden to increase biodiversity throughout the community.
Figure 1. Project site locations.
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2. Design Rationale Rain gardens were installed at six locations throughout Greater Lafayette. Selected sites are high traffic locations where the gardens will be readily observed, thus promoting additional adoption of rain gardens. Each landowner submitted a cost share application, and with this submission, agreed to install their rain garden project. No permits were required to construct any portion of this project. 3. Design and Construction Specifics Landowners completed no less than one percolation test at each project site. Using these data and the measured roof size from the Tippecanoe County GIS, rain garden sizes were calculated. Each garden is sized to address the required one-half inch per hour percolation rate as per Tippecanoe County specifications. Landowners selected their own plants using guidance provided by the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation and/or their contractor. Plant selections were made by students at the two gardens installed at Battle Ground Middle School and Oakland High School. All plant selections were reviewed by WREC staff in advance of rain garden construction. 3.1. Whiting Rain Garden The Whiting rain garden accepts drainage from 2,162 square feet of roof at 228 Dehart Street, West Lafayette, Indiana. The garden measures 180 square feet (Figure 2). Total installation cost for the rain garden, including planting, was $5,968.
Figure 2. Whiting rain garden planting plan.
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3.2. Wabash Gardens Rain Gardens Fourteen rain gardens were installed at Wabash Gardens (approximately 160 W. Navajo, West Lafayette, Indiana). The gardens collect roof runoff from a combined 45,000 square feet of roof across 28 condominiums (Figure 3). Gardens range in size from 90 to 210 square feet draining between 1,052 and 2,455 square feet. Total installation cost for the 14 rain gardens was $58,477.
Figure 3. Rain gardens installed at Wabash Gardens. Note: Due to tree placement, rain garden E was split into two smaller gardens. 3.3. Battle Ground Middle School Rain Garden The Battle Ground Middle School rain garden is located on the north side of the school at 6100 N. 50 W. West Lafayette, Indiana. The rain garden accepts roof drainage from 6,580 square feet and measures 548 square feet (Figure 4). Battle Ground Middle School art and ecology club students selected the plants to be planted in their rain garden (Figure 5). Planting was completed by art students and art and ecology club students. Installation costs totaled $11,808.
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Figure 4. Battle Ground Middle School location and cross section details.
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Figure 5. Battle Ground Middle School rain garden planting plan.
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3.4. Saxton-Goffman Rain Gardens The Saxton-Goffman rain gardens are located within native landscaping adjacent to Fairway Lane at 703 Sugar Hill Drive West Lafayette, Indiana. The east rain garden collects water from road drainage, while the west rain garden accepts water from road drainage and an existing small ravine. The two gardens measure 212 square feet (Figure 4). Total cost for installation was $4,955.
Figure 6. Master plan for the Saxton-Goffman rain garden.
3.5. Bresnahan Rain Garden The Bresnahan rain garden drains 970 square feet of residential roof at 4291 Mondavi Boulevard, Lafayette, Indiana. The garden measured 80 square feet (Figure 7). In total, the Bresnahan rain garden cost $2,323 to install.
Figure 7. Bresnahan rain garden site location and sizing.
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3.6. Oakland High School Rain Garden The Oakland HIgh School rain garden is located on the west side of the school at 611 S. 21st Street Lafayette, Indiana. The rain garden accepts roof drainage from 5,250 square feet and measures 475 square feet. Oakland High Schools students completed rain garden sizing and planting plans for class credit (Figure 8). Planting was completed by Oakland High School students under the direction of the lead student designer. Installation costs totaled $8,452.
Figure 8. Oakland High School rain garden planting plan. 4. Construction Schedule Table 1 details the construction start and end dates for each rain garden. Table 1. Construction timeline for 2014 rain gardens.
Rain Garden Construction Start Date Planting Date
Whiting June 1, 2014 June 9, 2014
Wabash Gardens June 15, 2014 June 23-July 8, 2014
Battle Ground Middle School April 15, 2014 May 6, 2014
Goffman-Sexton June 22, 2014 August 18, 2014
Bresnahan May 22, 2014 June 3, 2014
Oakland High School April 1, 2014 May 12, 2014
5. Monitoring and Maintenance Activity Each landowner is required to maintain their rain garden for no less than five years from its planting date. Maintenance plans including weekly weeding and water during establishment and remulching
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annually were discussed with private residents. Maintenance plans were developed for the publicly installed rain gardens at Battle Ground Middle School and Oakland High School. These plans detail the need to weed and water, identify local problem weeds, and describe annual remulching needs. WREC will conduct annual photomonitoring and spot checks to identify problem locations and work with landowners to complete maintenance as needed. 6. Project Summary Using LARE funds, WREC installed 20 rain gardens throughout the Region of the Great Bend of the Wabash River Watershed. Each rain garden is designed to address individual site conditions with native plants planted to improve biodiversity and reduce nutrient and sediment loading to the Wabash River.