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Bioretention Cells and Rain Gardens
Bioretention is a upland water quality and water quantity control practice the uses the chemical, biological and physical properties of plants, microbes and soils for removal of pollutants from storm water runoff. Some of the processes that may take place in a bioretention facility include: sedimentation, adsorption, filtration, volatilization, ion exchange, decomposition, phytoremediation, bioremediation, and storage capacity. This same principle of utilizing biological systems has been widely used in the retention and the transformation of pollutants and nutrients found in agricultural and wastewater treatment practices.
Unlike various other practices that control only peak discharge, bioretention can be designed to mimic the pre-existing hydrologic conditions by treating the associated volumes of runoff. (from bioretention.com)
Bioretention cells and rain gardens in the News
Investigate West: Ballard rain gardens--a green solution gone wrong
Southside Pride: Raingardens take the city back to nature
Newport News Daily Press: Rain, rain, come this way… into your rain garden
Muskogee Phoenix: Rain gardens good for home
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Rain gardens--A practical solution for water pollution
...click here for older bioretention news articles
Fact Sheets
Rain Garden Design for Homeowners, University of Nebraska
Installing Rain Gardens in Your Yard, University of Nebraska
Plant Selection for Rain Gardens in Nebraska, University of Nebraska
Rain Gardens in Connecticut--a Design Guide for Homeowners, University of Connecticut
Bioretention Performance, Design, Construction, and Maintenance, North Carolina State University
Designing Rain Gardens (Bioretention Areas), North Carolina State University
Bioretention Applications: Inglewood Demonstration Project, Largo, Maryland, Florida Aquarium, Tampa, Florida, EPA
Bioretention, EPA
Bulletins, journal articles, and Handbooks
Rain Gardening in the South: Ecologically Designed Gardens for Drought, Deluge, and Everything in Between, Kraus and Spafford, Eno Publishers, Hillsborough, NC
Bioretention Cell Construction, Chavez, Brown and Storm, OSU Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Impacts of Construction Actity on Bioretention Performance, Brown and Hunt, 2010. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Plants for Stormwater Design, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Impacts of Construction Activity on Bioretention Performance, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, Brown and Hunt, 2010
Bioretention TC-32, California Stormwater BMP Handbook
Past OSU Training Sessions
Stillwater Rain Garden Workshop, June 9, 2009
Other Bioretention Cell Web Sites
Bioretention.com, an online resource for stormwater designers
