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Letter: Rain gardens can help manage stormwater

Can Flossmoor residents welcome life-giving rains without flooded roadways, basements or backyard ponds? 

Village officials grapple with expensive bond issues to construct storm sewers, according to a recent H-F Chronicle article by Tom Houlihan. There is a less expensive, more immediate water control method the village could employ now as part of an overall plan … residential and commercial rain gardens throughout our village. 

These gardens are engineered to direct rain overflow from sump pumps, roofs and pavement (driveways, patios or parking lots) to areas that temporarily hold the water like a sponge. Plants and underlying sand and gravel filter this precious rain into the water table, keeping it as an asset in the land rather than an expensive liability directed literally down the drain of a storm sewer. 

The village of Flossmoor can encourage rain gardens in several ways: how-to seminars, resource lists, YouTube instructions on the village website. Residents and businesses  incorporating rain gardens on their property could receive discounts on their water bill sewer charges. 

This is a green low-cost method that beautifies, attracts pollinators and birds, and is one more tool aiding water control. Towns throughout Illinois already have successful rain garden plans…look on their websites to see the benefits: Aurora, Illinois rain gardens help neighborhood traffic control. 

Palatine and Niles, Illinois offer how-to instructions and beautiful municipal garden/recreation areas. Flossmoor officials should add our village to the growing list.

Trish Harper

Flossmoor

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