John Hill - Bio Retention Gardens

   BYU Bioretention Garden: It’s time BYU gave a Rain Garden a chance…

Bioretention cells or Rain Gardens are a new and innovative way to address the challenges of stormwater management inherent in the expanding development of the Arid West. These gardens provide a natural bio-filter to remove contaminants that end up in runoff from fields and parking lots. Oil and other engine fluids, salts, nitrogen, phosphorous and even heavy metals have been shown to be effectively removed by a well-placed and designed Rain Garden (http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/storm water/menuofbmps/index.cfm?action=factsheet_results&view=specific&bmp=72).

                BYU Grounds, the Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences’ Landscape Management faculty and the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering all have the potential to play an important role in planning and implementing this sustainable irrigation technique at Brigham Young University. Although altering existing irrigation and storm water treatment infrastructure would not be cost effective or wise, the campus continues to expand the opportunities for new and innovative techniques such as this are available.

The College of Life Sciences recently built a new green house facility off of 900 East, near Kiwanis Park in Provo. This site is already graded and landscaped in such a way that the turf is being used as a bio-filter. By converting 6% of the drainage surface into a Rain Garden this filter could become a bioretention facility that slows, cleans, cools, and stores storm water. The ACAD graphic above shows two potential (labeled “Rain Garden A” and “Rain Garden B”) sites for rain gardens to be included on this property.

Apart from the benefits of cleaning storm water and controlling flow-rates, these gardens offer a research opportunity for the university. Environmental engineering students would be hard-pressed to find a better prospect for their required senior project. Environmental science and engineering professors have the opportunity to participate in adapting this new method in the Great Basin. Only one other school (U. of Utah: http://sustainability.utah.edu/initiative-fund/scif-projects/rain-garden.php) is currently researching the use of bioretention cells in arid systems. There are still many variables to be assessed with designing and building of rain gardens and BYU should take part in finding the best way to do so.

Rain garden intiatives have popped up all over the U.S. and are being encouraged through grants at all levels of government.  All you have to do is Google “rain garden program,” and you will catch the vision. It is time for BYU to take a serious look at this opportunity and if not here and now, answer the question: when and where is BYU going to give Rain Gardens a chance?