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Health & Fitness

Bioretention Areas: A Larger-Scale Solution to Stormwater Run-off

These areas can reduce stormwater erosion and the future need to fund stormwater repair projects, thereby reducing the need to increase taxes for future repairs.

Bioretention areas are similar to rain gardens but address larger scale projects and are suited for developments and businesses. They are landscaping features that are adapted for filtering pollutants from run off.

As you may know, the city is subject to certain water quality standards by the EPA concerning pollutant discharge and a permit is now required. Bioretention areas also slow the velocity of runoff and promote infiltration of runoff into the the groundwater supply.

A bioretention area is a shallow, landscaped depression that receives runoff from impervious surfaces (e.g., concrete). The layered design of the bioretention area, which consists of an underdrain, a permeable sand/soil mix layer, and a top layer of rock and/or vegetation, filters debris particles, sediment and other pollutants from runoff and prevents them from draining into a storm sewer system or waterway.

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Bioretention areas are effective at capturing and treating the first flush of stormwater runoff—the initial wave of runoff that carries the highest amount of pollutants.

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