MAT-SU BOROUGH—Municipalities and private property owners across the nation are catching onto rain gardens as a technique to capture rainwater before it enters storm drains or nearby waterbodies. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough gained four beautiful and practical rain gardens this summer. Native plants will help prevent pollution, erosion, and flooding. “One of the benefits of rain gardens is that they decrease the amount of runoff going into the local stormwater systems, which reduces costs to communities for storm water treatment,” said Frankie Barker, Borough Environmental Planner.

On July 20, recycling volunteers helped plant the fourth rain garden this season at the new recycling center. This rain garden will absorb runoff from a large roof and the driveway.  Plants featured in the Mat-Su rain gardens include iris, geraniums, shooting stars, ferns and red-twig dogwoods.

The four new Mat-Su rain gardens are:

• Meadow Lakes Senior Center – installed with assistance from the Meadow Lakes Bloomers Garden Club
• Iditapark, City of Wasilla – with assistance from Teeland Middle School students
• Residential Rain Garden in Palmer
• Valley Community for Recycling Solutions – with assistance from many recycling volunteers

By replacing poor draining soils with sandy topsoil, a rain garden is able to absorb rainfall from impervious surfaces such as rooftops, driveways, and parking lots.  Stormwater will soak into the depression of the rain garden instead of filling storm drains, streets, and surface waters. Rain gardens improve water quality in nearby water bodies, protecting our fish and recreation. The plants filter the stormwater also protecting our groundwater, which is especially important given that the majority of Mat-Su residents drink from private wells.

Many partners and businesses contributed time and labor to the projects including Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District, Sustainable Design Group, Rock Ridge Services and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2010, the Borough received an Environmental Protection Agency grant ($564,000) for water quality protection. The rain gardens are among other funded projects including green infrastructure conservation, low impact development (rain gardens) and stormwater planning.

 “We hope to inspire people all over the Mat-Su to install rain gardens,” said Barker. “And we will be looking for project sites and partners for next summer.”

For more information contact Frankie Barker, 746-7439, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Photos: Frankie Barker/MSB top: recycling volunteers help install rain garden near runoff pathway of large roof on recycling center. MIDDLE: In this private yard, they dug down two and a half feet in a depression where water collects in the spring. They replaced the non porous soil with sandy soil. RIGHT: The same private yard in Palmer where a rain garden replaces the water-collecting depression that was there. Water will no long spill onto street gutters here.

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