Science or Fiction?

[Christa]

The following attachments were given to me by a horticulture and toxicology professor at my university when I asked her about phytoremediation for a rain garden project.

The Phytoremediation paper by Elizabeth Pilon-Smits lists plant genus names within the discussion of each type of pollutant/remediation scenario. It also contains some really clear graphics of the phytoremediation process. The rain garden/bioretention paper is from NC State Extension. It is detailed, and includes some simple diagrams. The filter strip article is published by the University of California, and is oriented toward agricultural runoff, but it is well written (albeit perhaps a little technical) and applies to other situations as well.

I hope this helps! The Google search is a good idea, but you might have better luck avoiding the fiction if you stick to Google Scholar and your local university library. As for completed studies with accompanying data, I don’t personally have anything like this handy, but maybe you could backtrack the article references and find something. I know NC State is active in this area. Good luck! Post what you find!!
Christa

[Cliff See]

hi there, isn’t this something that an Environmental Engineer or even a Hydrologist would be better qualified to answer and show the research for you? not necessarily the scope of a land/arch.

how about trying the dept of environmental design and engineering at UC Berkeley.. they got tons of data. But one question: how contaminated is the water from the splash pad? i am curious about the given level you need to filter… i’m interested, can you kindly let us know how you might go about this. thanks, cliff

[Cliff See]

hi, I’m cliff… that pdf on designing rain gardens is awesome info thanks. a small retention pond basically, here out west, i have seen them popping up around small parking lots. they appear to be too deep, when small in width, especially in urban areas where they isn’t much room. interesting nonetheless.
there is one nearby at a new McDonald’s, the depth requires a fencing so that no one trips over the curb – over designed for my tastes in a parking lot, maybe required, dunno… may also require wet tolerant plants, opposed to drought tolerant we have been used to here in california. thanks

[Cliff See]

hi i am Cliff, i agree… i am beginning to see parking lots that have very few parking spaces, due to all the deep rain garden swales between sidewalks, in the street easements, let alone ADA requirements to get around or over a swale. why build a parking lot if there is little room for cars? it’s surprising that common sense has no place here. too much contradiction between science and bureaucrats that make the rules.

[Andrew Garulay, RLA]

One problem in a lot of things, not only runoff, is that when a problem exists in certain situations that has a good solution applied to it, people then want to project that as a standard situation with a standard solution with the assumption that the affect has the same benefit or not applying it has the same consequences. Then we wind up doing foolish things that become the face of such things as rain gardens (like the ones that Cliff See is talking about and I deal with as well). Then you get polarization.

The solution is to always use reasoning rather than following movements. The problem with that is that you will likely be the only person using reasoning in the room.

[Pat S. Rosend]

This is exactly what LA’s do and should be doing more of. It is a shame that our own industry lacks the reputation within it’s own practitioner’s to move forward and be the experts in this aspect of landscape architecture. If we once again cede an area of expertise to another dicipline, then we will still be “just the landscaper”

[Christa]

Here, here!!

[James Sipes]

We recently won an LID Design Competition sponspored by the Houston Land and Water Sustainability Forum, and a big part of our entry talks about removing contaminants from stormwater runoff. Let me know if you are interested in getting a copy.

j

[Christa]

I would love to have a copy, if you can direct me to a link or send me a copy. Laying hands on some of this information is difficult. It seems to be produced in the branches of science, but little consolidation work has been done that relates the research to practical application.

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