BEsT MANAGEMENT PRACTICEs HANDbooK - Tahoe BMP

industrial properties, vehicle fueling and maintenance areas, and any otherlocation where spills may occur without adequate measures forpretreatment.• Avoid using a rain garden as a snow storage facility as snow storage activitiescan damage or block the inlet and outlet and can damage vegetation.Advantages• Rain gardens can be incorporated into a number of different landscapesettings, such as front and back yards of residential areas, parking lotplanter islands, and in connection with roof downspouts.• Can help alleviate downstream flooding and other drainage problems.• When properly designed and maintained, integrates into home andneighborhood landscapes and enhances aesthetic value.• Can provide benefits besides water quality, such as wildlife habitat andopen space.Disadvantages• May require irrigation to maintain vegetation.• Applicability limited to sites with higher infiltration rates and lowpollutant loads (unless pretreatment is provided). Depending uponinflowing pollutant loads, frequent maintenance may be necessary tomaintain effectiveness.• If improperly designed, installed, or maintained standing water maypersist and provide a location for mosquito breeding.DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS• Configure the rain garden ponding area (bottom) to be a shallow depressionbetween 6 to 18 inches deep.• Design side slopes to be 3:1 (run to rise) or flatter to encourage growth ofvegetation and slope stability.• Where space is available, size the rain garden to retain at least the 20-yr/1-hrstorm volume generated from the tributary impervious area.• Rain gardens shall be designed to infiltrate stormwater within 96 hours.• Consider designing an accessible forebay, sediment trap, or an equivalentpretreatment device at the inlet of a rain garden for removal of coarsesediments and debris. Accessible maintenance facilities can markedlyimprove the ease of maintenance and contribute to extended effectiveness.• Avoid siting near building foundations or other structural features. As a ruleof thumb, a rain garden shall be sited as least 10 feet down gradient and 50feet upgradient of a structural feature. (Suggested distances may be shortenedor lengthened at the discretion of the design engineer dependent on themeasures taken to mitigate potential damages from seepage).CHAPTER 4: BMP ToolkitTRPA BMP Handbook4.1.1.6-Rain Garden 2012Page 2