The Environment

Quoting WikipediA

"The natural environment, encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species.^[1] The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished by components:

Complete ecological units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all vegetation,microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere and natural phenomena that occur within their boundaries.

Universal natural resources and physical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water, and climate, as well as energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism, not originating from human activity."

Water is one of the most valuable resources the we have in Wisconsin. In Watertown we are part of the Rock River Basin.

Our aquifer is adjacent to the aquifer that serves Waukesha and the seven county region where the aquifer water level has dropped to alarming levels. The preservation of our water resource is the focus of this initiative.

Our Water Conservation Initiative - Rain Gardens

We - Engineer, Furnish, and Install the Rain Garden

RAIN GARDENS....A BEAUTIFUL SOLUTION TO RUNOFF POLLUTION AND HELP TO REPLENISH THE AQUIFER

Why build a rain garden?

Water that soaks in replenishes groundwater and helps prevent flooding.
A rain garden protects water quality by trapping sediment, fertilizers and other pollutants.
Rain gardens need no additional fertilizer and little pesticides.
Native plants provide food and shelter for butterflies, song birds and other animals.

Rain_Garden_Downspout

A typical rain garden:

   • Is a sunken garden 4 - 8 inches deep
   • Has a flat bottom
   • Is 1/3 the size of the area draining to it –
      usually 75 - 300 square feet in size
   • Can be formal or informal in design
   • Drains within two days, so it does not provide
     breeding grounds to mosquitoes
   • Is planted with native plants to better infiltrate the
     water

Why use native Plants?
With roots growing down twice as deep as the plants are tall, native plants are very efficient at absorbing water.
Also, each year one-third of the roots die,
providing deep tunnels for water to filter into the ground.

How can you have a rain garden?

The project starts with a phone call to 920.349.7545 - and a we come out and develop the preliminary survey of your site that is the foundation for the rain garden plan.

The University of Wisconsin publishes a number of documents that give a thorough explanation of Rain Gardens.

Rain Gardens - a household way to improve water quality in your community is a good first book to read.

Rain Gardens - a how-to manual for homeowners is a very detailed and easy to read manual. We use this document as our design guideline to develop the plan for your rain garden.

Once you have a plan in place, where can you find the native plants for your garden. We participate in the Graham Martin Foundation Rain Garden Grant program and order your plants for the project.

Start by looking through the plant listings below.

Native Grasses

Native Legumes

Native Sedges

Native Wildflowers