Auburn, Ala. - With recent rain systems moving through the area, it’s an ideal time for residents to assess their yard’s drainage and whether they should consider installing a stormwater best management practice. The Smart Yards Incentive Program could help Auburn residents, living in the designated Saugahatchee Creek Watershed, fund the landscape project. The City of Auburn’s Water Resource Management Department has joined forces with SWaMP, the Saugahatchee Watershed Management Plan, to implement the program. The Smart Yards Incentive Program helps fund up to 60% of the cost of pre-approved projects that are designed to minimize erosion and intercept pollutants being carried into local streams during storms. Potential projects include rain gardens, streambank restoration projects, repair of badly eroded areas and installation of rainwater systems. Interested residents who live in the designated Saugahatchee Watershed should visit www.swamp.auburn.edu to access construction guidelines and download an application.

More About Rain Gardens:

Rain gardens have been especially popular since they can be constructed in an array of various shapes and sizes, though one must pay special attention to the placement and sizing to fit your specific soil type and landscape. Benefits of a properly installed rain garden include:

• intercepting stormwater runoff and the pollutants it carries,
• treating pollutants by rain garden plants and rain garden soil mixture,
• recharging the groundwater through infiltration of stormwater into the soil,
• preventing erosion of the landscape by lessening the volume and force of stormwater runoff, and,
• preventing stream bank erosion by lessening the volume and force of stormwater entering streams.