Students at the University of Chicago’s Lab High School will soon have an opportunity to plant perennials and improve water quality at the same time, once a rain garden program planned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago gets off the ground.

The Lab School is one of four high schools in Cook County that have partnered with the district on a pilot program to educate students, as well as the public, about the important role that rain gardens can play in managing stormwater and cleaning up the environment.

The district is launching the program as part of a comprehensive stormwater management plan for Cook County.  District board commissioners were updated on the project and the plan at a study session at district headquarters yesterday.

Rain gardens are designed to absorb stormwater that might normally flow into sewers or directly into rivers and streams. That run-off often contains yard chemicals, pet waste and other pollutants. In addition to affecting water quality, stormwater run-off also contributes to flooding and erosion of river banks.

The root systems in rain garden vegetation—usually hardy, native wetland plants—also act as a filter, removing pollutants from rain before it reaches the groundwater.

The district is in the process of hiring a landscape architect to design the gardens, as well as drafting intergovernmental agreements with the participating schools, according to Joseph Sobanski, chief engineer at the district.

The schools will hire contractors to install the gardens and will retain responsibility for maintenance. Each school will agree to incorporate the garden into either curriculum or student clubs.

The other participating high schools include Bloom Township District 206, Proviso Township District 209, and Schaumburg Township District 211.

The district expects to expand the program beyond the initial five schools in the future, said Sobanski

In other news, district officials announced that they have received a new supply of rain barrels.

Earlier this year, the district was facing a backlog for the popular containers, which, like rain gardens, can mitigate flooding and reduce the burden on sewage systems. 

When hooked up to gutters on one end and hoses on the other, rain barrels capture potential storm run-off and supply a source of clean, fresh water for later use on yard or garden. The barrels are available to Cook County residents for $40.  They can be ordered on-line for later pick up at either the Calumet, Stickney or Northside reclamation plants. The district says it has sold 1500 rain barrels since it began offering them in 2007.

The district also announced a tentative timeline for the drafting of watershed management plans.  Watershed management councils have been identifying problems that contribute to flooding in their areas and suggesting capital improvements that will contribute to a regional strategy to contain flooding.

The schedule is as follows: Upper Salt Creek: November 2008; Calumet-Sag: December 2008; Little Calumet: June 2009; Poplar Creek: April 2010; North Branch: April 2010: Lower Des Plaines: October 2010.

The city of Chicago opted to retain separate authority for its stormwater management. It is in the process of drafting an intergovernmental agreement with the district.

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