Bioswale

I just found the Three Rivers educational bioswale, which also serves to filter water running from the park's lawns and the Petting Zoo. I first spotted the beautiful wildflowers, then saw the sign. I'll have to go back to try for the flower photos again, the ones I took weren't very good. Here's what the sign says:

A bioswale is a low-gradient basin system, which contains a dense cover of vegetation and is used to maintain and clean runoff. The gentle grade of the land slows the water flow, while the soil and vegetation filter storm runoff, removing 30% to 80% of pollutants such as petroleum products, excess nutrients, metals and sediments that may be found in stormwater.

It is an environmentally sensitive approach to pollution control that adds natural beauty to the community and provides a haven for many mammals and birds.

The bioswale in Scidmore Park is designed to minimize sediment and street runoff as well as animal pollution. The water collects at one end of the bioswale and is filtered by native plants and soil, which reduce the amount of pollutants entering the Rocky River. Native Plants have large root systems which make them great filtering agents.

Studies have shown that 70% of water entering streams, rivers, and lakes have been carried there from storm water runoff. Bioswales can be built at a residential level and can have a large impact on water quality in a community.