A rain garden is a garden of native plants known to be naturally good at taking up nutrients. Each garden is designed to soak in rainwater runoff that flows from road reserves, driveways, or your front lawn. 

The purpose of a rain garden is to remove nutrients, sediments and other pollutants from the rainwater runoff before it infiltrates to groundwater – this protects our valuable groundwater resources. 

A rain garden is not a water garden, pond, or wetland. In fact, a rain garden is actually dry most of the time and typically only holds water during and following a rainfall event.

Each time it rains, water runs off sealed surfaces, such as roads and paths and collects pollutants such as dirt, fertilizer, sediments, oil and bacteria along the way. If not treated, these pollutants could infiltrate to the underlying groundwater aquifer; which supplies water that is used for irrigating open space and as a source for scheme water.

But, in Elavale our rain gardens are designed to collect and treat rainwater runoff, allowing filtration by vegetation, pollutants to be trapped by soils and nutrients to be taken up by soil microbes. Surface runoff entering raingardens recharges groundwater aquifers. These processes filter out pollutants to ensure the water entering our storm drains is as clean as possible. 

In the design of a rain garden, a special soil blend is used which helps to trap pollutants but also maintains the right infiltration rate.

Our Elavale rain gardens are constructed along the side of the road and collect rainwater runoff from the roads at the front of your house. Once water is collected in the rain garden, infiltration may take up to 48 hours after significant rainfall.

Each rain garden incorporates native vegetation, so no ongoing fertiliser is needed. Raingardens need ongoing maintenance to make sure they continue to function. You can do your part by using less or slow-release fertilisers on your verge, by picking up any rubbish that you see and by avoiding sediments washing from your property onto the road.

• Improves water quality by filtering out pollutants

• Protects valuable groundwater resources

• Preserves native vegetation

• Provides localised stormwater and flood control

• Attracts beneficial birds, butterflies, and insects