RAIN GARDENS ARE FOUND TO RETAIN 99 PERCENT OF POLLUTANTS IN RUNOFF.

Dietz, Michael; Clausen, John

The article focuses on the findings of University of Connecticut researchers Michael Dietz and John Clausen pertaining to the capability of rain gardens to trap and retain 99 percent of pollutants in urban storm runoff. With two years of studying the phenomenon, they emphasize that gardens that are easy-to-construct offer simple solution in preventing pollutants by significantly reducing the concentrations of nitrates, ammonia, phosphorous, and other minerals from reaching storm drains. They also discover a solution to permit polluted rainwater to puddle at the gardens' bottom and permit soil bacteria to transform nitrates into nitrogen gas.