by Stephanie Gross
According to The National Weather Forecast, New Orleans will receive somewhere between 4 to 6 inches of rain fall today. Combined with the intensity of rain from yesterday, runoffs and possible flooding will affect many areas in our city. It’s good to see the beautiful rain garden in Midcity (Forshey St.) collecting water not only in the ditch but also the dropbox.
Drains that divert water from the streets into the rain garden are relatively clear with a bit of trash and debris at the edges. Before the street will flood, runoffs will enter the rain garden and the plants will filter any pollutants in the form of fertilizer, motor oil, metals, grease, pet waste, etc.
While the irises are no longer present in the ditch, spider lilies, palmettos, Cypress trees, and Louisiana grasses are seen growing. There root systems are soaking up rain water and acting as organic filters to remove high nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and metals from the soil. Compost at the base of these plants also helps with filtration.
As for the water chemistry, a few tests have been completed but more processing needs to be done before I can report the findings here. Hardness tests are in the range of 80ppm both inside and outside the dropbox.
Backseat chemistry at its finest!
Try to keep dry, but know that these natural environments are doing their part to offset the affects of flooding.
EPA Urban Waters 