Minnesota Water Resources Conference - Water Resources Center ...

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Tuesday, Monday, October 27 23
Concurrent Sessions III 3:15–4:45
Track A: Low Impact Development, continued
Vegetation—Can it Fix Soils in Raingardens Not in Your Lifetime!
David Bauer, Rice Creek Watershed District, dbauer@ricecreek.org; Dan Wheeler, University of Minnesota
Planting vegetation is commonly considered an effective raingarden remediation strategy for compacted or
fill soils. While vegetation has beneficial properties, it is only one of many important factors that influence
water movement through soil materials. Processes that make soil more permeable in nature take hundreds
to thousands of years, as shown in our native soils. Over the past few years, hundreds of rain gardens and
biofiltration cells have been installed in Rice Creek Watershed District. Failures are usually linked to problems
in interpreting the soils or damage to the soils during construction. Comparisons will be made to the
performance standards of raingarden soils and the soil treatment areas of septic systems. Plants are important
for aesthetics, filtering sediment, and trapping nutrients. Infiltration, a raingarden’s most important function in
meeting Rice Creek Watershed District Stormwater Rules, is dependent on the soils.
31 Minnesota Water Resources Conference, October 27–28, 2008