Rain Garden at Parksville Fire Hall

Thanks to the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES), the City of Parksville and grants from The Nature Trust of BC and Pacific Salmon Foundation, there is a new rain garden at the Parksville Fire Hall.

“I am so pleased that Parksville is recognizing the importance of rain gardens in managing stormwater”, said MVIHES Project Coordinator, Faye Smith. Faye went on to say, “Rainwater pouring into storm drains from our streets, parking lots and other hard surfaces has a devastating effect on our streams and shorelines. Not only does the pollution in the water harm fish and other aquatic life, the volume of water that flows through the pipes during a heavy rainfall causes erosion and destroys critical habitat.”

Rain gardens capture and absorb rainwater runoff from hard surfaces. The captured runoff can contain dirt, fertilizer, chemicals, oil and other pollutants which are filtered out in the rain garden. Water safely percolates into the ground where it recharges groundwater aquifers and contributes to stream flow in dry periods. Rain gardens are an attractive way to get clean water back into the ground where it belongs and because they are planted with native plants they are easy to maintain.

Mayor Chris Burger said, “Thanks to a partnership with the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society we are proud to have a new attractive rain garden alongside the parking lot at the Parksville Fire Hall. I hope this will soon be a growing trend in Parksville.”

For more information about rain gardens you can download the following document prepared by Patrick Walshe, RPBIO, Rainwater Management: Holistic Approaches to Put Water Back in the Ground Where it Belongs