Rainy Day Solutions: Enhancing Rain Gardens

With over 80% of the Canadian population dwelling in urban centers, design for sustainable urban environments is tantamount to the health and happiness of 21st century Canadians. The City of Victoria (CoV) would like to incorporate green infrastructure into their integrated storm water management plan. Over the past four years, nine rain gardens have been installed in the CoV as pilot projects. Their function as storm water catchment areas and supporting ecological communities needs to be determined. A set of evaluating criterion is required to measure the success of the installed rain gardens. A partnership with a local freshwater ecology restoration team, Aqua-Tex, has been established to determine rain garden success and create installation and management recommendations. A literature review will inform the creation of quantitative metrics. These metrics will be used in a scientific evaluation of the rain gardens. A best management practices report will culminate the project and be used as a guide for further rain garden installation by the CoV, and the private consulting firm, Aqua-Tex.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Valentin Schaefer

Student:

Cara Hernould

Partner:

Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting Ltd.

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

University of Victoria