Managing Your Watershed highlights existing stormwater pollution prevention best management practices installed in Muncie and Delaware County as well as recommendations for residents and examples done in other city's.

1. Mc Culloch Rain Garden

2.  A Watershed is an area of land that drains to a
common location or waterway.
 Everyone lives in a watershed and is responsible for
what drains into our waterways

3.  NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or
snowmelt moving over and through
the ground. As the runoff moves, it
picks up and carries away natural and
human-made pollutants, finally
depositing them into
lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters
and ground waters.
 Common NPS pollutants include
sediment, oils, fertilizers, pesticides,
herbicides, pet waste, animal
waste, litter, greases, etc.
 Our wetlands are dying out, a recent
survey found that 70% were in
unfavorable condition.

4.  Stormwater best management practices (BMP’s) are control measures or
actions taken to mitigate changes or prevent the quantity and quality of
stormwater runoff from causing water pollution. Stormwater BMP’s can be
classified as “structural” or “non-structural” and can range from
installations to changes in procedures. There are many ways to implement
BMP’s, and methods of doing so vary based on the site and operation.
BMP’s and the Muncie Action Plan
 According to the Muncie Action Plan (MAP), which was put together with
the input of nearly 2,000 city residents, it states under
Initiative 5- Managing Community Resources: Action Initiative 5.6
Implement Models of sustainable design around the city.
“Create downtown parks and other projects using sustainable design
methods to improve community amenities and to educate community
members about water quality and stormwater run-off, eco-balance, and
climate-appropriate and native plant selection.”

5.  Install a Rain Garden on your property
 Install Rain Barrels at your downspouts
 Consider a Green Roof!
 Plant native plants and flowers in your yard
 Maintain your septic system
 Plant trees!
 Pick up after your pet
 Wash your car on your grass
 Use phosphate free soaps
 Compost organic matter such as leaves, grass clippings, etc.
and keep them off streets and sidewalks

6.  A Rain Garden is a dug
depression with gradually sloping
sides that collects stormwater.
 A Rain Garden is planted with
native
plants, flowers, sedges, shrubs
and other native vegetation due
to there tolerance to drought and
standing water.
 The native vegetation absorbs
and filters stormwater run-off
through its deep root systems.
 Rain Gardens hold water for up to
24 hours and become dry
between precipitation events.
 A wildlife habitat!

7.  Catching stormwater in a rain garden allows it to slowly
filter into the ground instead of becoming stormwater run-
off on an impervious surface leading to stormwater
pollution in our nearest waterway.
 Rain Gardens encourages more water to recharge the water
table underground.
 Rain Gardens are planted with native vegetation
encouraging new wild life habitat for beneficial
birds, butterflies and insects.
 Rain Gardens reduce the risk of potential health risks
associated with stagnant water.

8. Residential Rain Garden Eco Rehab House
Residential Rain Garden Residential Rain Garden

9. Residential Rain Garden Residential Rain Garden
Residential Rain Garden Residential Rain Garden

10. HAND MACHINE

12. Excavation with Clay Amending soil with leaf compost
Three and half months old Planting of 160 3in. plugs

13. Rain Garden Installation Continued
 Determine the amount of sun your rain garden will get
so you may make the proper plant selection based on
either full to partial shade tolerant plants.
 Check out our suggested rain garden designs based on
color preference:
 Pink and Purple
 Purple and Yellow
 Pink and White
 Bird and Butterfly
 Partial Shade
 Rain Garden designs can be viewed or downloaded by
going to www.raingardenregistry.com and clicking on
our Downloads & Publications center, scroll down
and click on “rain garden sheets”.

14.  Spring/Fall
 Prune dead vegetation if applicable
 Cut and divide plants that get too large
 Weeding
 Add plants if desired
 Add mulch if necessary
 Summer
 Weeding
 Water to help establish young plants
 Add mulch if needed
 Remove dead plants if necessary
 Winter
 Dead vegetation and seed heads can provide shelter and food for birds
 Weeds
 Typical weeds found in a rain garden include Purslane, Canada
Thistle, Clover, Prostrate Spurge, Crab Grass and Dandelion
Sources: Fort Wayne’s Catching Rain Program, Maintenance Brochure

15.  Upon receiving a Center for Disease Control- Healthy
Homes, Healthy People grant; Muncie Delaware
Stormwater Management has focused on reducing health
risks associated with flooding in the Whitely
Neighborhood.
 The three year grant included water quality
monitoring, public education and neighborhood
relationship building through rain barrel distributions and
residential Rain Garden installations.
 5 Demonstration Rain Gardens were installed at Mc
Culloch Park, 2 large Rain Gardens were installed at
Longfellow Elementary and Motivate Our Minds, and 70
residential Rain Gardens were installed throughout the
Whitely Neighborhood; including 2 at the Roy C. Buley
Center.

16. Roy C. Buley Center Roy C. Buley Center
Roy C. Buley Center Mc Culloch Park

17.  Rain patterns show regular rain fall events occur during
April, May and June just when vegetable gardens and
perennial beds are being established
 Reduce flooding in your yard by catching your roof run-off
and slow releasing it or using it on dry days
 Plants love rainwater over treated municipal water
 Catching rainwater decreases stormwater from picking up
pollutants and entering storm drains
 Save money and water!!!!!
 The average roof collects about 22,500
gallons of rain a year. Enough to fill 450
50 gallon rain barrels with free water!!!

18. North Street Urban Garden
Dual Rain Barrel Design

19.  Native plants are ideal for a rain garden because they
tolerate short periods of standing water, are drought
tolerant, and their deep roots make it easy for the
water to move into the soil. In other words; they’re
native to this area and climate.
 Other benefits include:
 Serving as non-polluting landscapes because they don’t
need fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides
 Serves as a wildlife habitat attracting beneficial insects
 Great for companion planting near vegetable gardens
 Winter hardy, and less prone to destructive insects and
disease

20. Native plants have extensive root systems which improve the ability of the soil to
infiltrate water and withstand wet or erosive conditions.
Illustration provided by the Conservation Research Institute.

21.  A landscape element, often a planted vegetated strip
along a street or parking lot, for the purpose of
capturing surface water runoff and filtering out
sediment and non-point source pollution before the
storm water enters the drainage system or
groundwater
Portland, OR Green Street Portland, OR parking lot

22. Minneapolis-based Barr Engineering
Company began working with the
city of Burnsville, Minnesota, in early
2002 to develop a plan for improving
the water quality of Crystal Lake by
adding rainwater gardens to a 20-
year-old neighborhood. To measure
the effectiveness of the gardens, two
nearly identical neighborhoods were
chosen for the project: one to be
“retrofitted” with 17 rainwater
gardens, and the other, just one street
away, to serve as a control site.

23. County Plaza BMP’s
•Bioretention basin/rain garden
•Live Wall
•Curb swale infiltration strip
•Stormwater Catchment basins
Before Picture

24. Rain Garden Porous Curb and Gutter
Rock Cascade Bio-Swale

25. A Xeriscaping landscape was
installed surrounding
City Hall to help capture
stormwater and encourage
absorption in the ground.

26. Camp Prairie Creek is a free youth environmental day camp hosted my
Stormwater Management and Prairie Creek Reservoir. Camp happens
every August and has graduated close to 150 local youth in environmental
stewardship.

27.  Roy C. Buley Center Rain Gardens
 Mc Culloch Park Rain Gardens
 Motivate Our Minds Rain Gardens
 Downtown BMP projects
MOM’S Butterfly Pavilion
Queen of the Prairie
Longfellow Rain Garden
City Hall Xeriscaping

28. Jason Donati
Muncie Delaware Stormwater Management
Stormwater Educator
Office: 765-747-2660
Cell: 765-716-2595
Fax: 765-747-7711
VISIT US ONLINE AT
WWW.WISHTHEFISH.COM
&
WWW.RAINGARDENREGISTRY.COM