Rain garden

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-023074",
  "term": "Rain garden",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A garden that uses plants and layers of soil, sand and mulch to retain rainwater, reducing the amount of polluted runoff that reaches storm drains and local waterways.\n\n2. A rain garden is a depressed area of the ground planted with vegetation, allowing runoff from impervious surfaces such as parking lots and roofs the opportunity to be collected and infiltrated into the groundwater supply or returned to the atmosphere through evaporation and evapotranspiration.\n\n3. A planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, and compacted lawn areas the opportunity to be absorbed. This reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground (as opposed to flowing into storm drains and surface waters which causes erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater). Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they generally don't require fertilizer and are more tolerant of one's local climate, soil, and water conditions.\n\n4. A depressed area of the ground planted with vegetation, allowing runoff from impervious surfaces such as parking lots and roofs the opportunity to be collected and infiltrated into the groundwater supply or returned to the atmosphere through evaporation and evapotranspiration. Rain gardens are typically cheaper to build and design than bioretention or bioinfiltration cells because they are often built without specific performance standards and without the assistance of a certified professional to design them.\n\n5. Garden that uses plants and layers of soil, sand and mulch to retain rainwater, reducing the amount of polluted runoff that reaches storm drains and local waterways.",
  "subject": "Ecosystems",
  "references": [
    "Chesapeake Bay Glossary",
    "Greening EPA Glossary",
    "Top Green Home Terms",
    "EPA Guidance for Federal Land Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Glossary at http://www.epa.gov/owow_keep/NPS/chesbay502/pdf/chesbay_glossary.pdf; Federal Land Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/rain-garden/"
}