Increased environmental awareness is generating a lot of interest in low-impact and sustainable stormwater solutions – such as rain gardens and bio-swales. Their ability to alleviate local drainage and flooding problems while improving water quality by reducing pollution downstream, coupled with the added benefit of increased aesthetics makes them ideal options. Recently, Coca-Cola Enterprises Bottling Companies and the Village of Niles, Illinois (a northern suburb of Chicago) formed a public/private partnership and embarked on building a sustainable rain garden park. The company hired the SEC Group, who together with the village, designed and implemented the first phase of this environmentally friendly park in June of 2008.

Project Goal
The primary goal was to improve a depleted site, cleanse polluted stormwater runoff, and recharge the groundwater while inspiring and educating area residents, business owners, schools, public officials and other surrounding communities about the benefits of sustainable stormwater practices. Kevin Morris, Vice President of Public Affairs & Communications for Coca-Cola, believed it was a very important task for over 150 employees that participated in the event.

“Our company is focused on water stewardship as a way to minimize the environmental footprint of our business. We are committed to conserving water in our operations and protecting watersheds everywhere we operate,” he said. “This project not only benefits the environment and the community of Niles, but it enabled our managers to physically partake in water conservation. We are all extremely proud to be a part of this exciting project.”

The site lies within a sensitive regional watershed, on the North Branch of the Chicago River, which covers over 44 square miles in Cook County, and over 50 square miles in neighboring Lake County. The Metropolitan Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is implementing a watershed-management plan throughout the region to focus on improving water quality. The plan calls for a watershed action plan which includes best management practices such as rain gardens and bio-swales because potentially polluted stormwater runoff can have local and regional impacts. The runoff leaving the Coca-Cola Rain Garden site will eventually make its way to the Illinois River, which flows into the Mississippi River and is ultimately released into the Gulf of Mexico. Coca-Cola and the Village of Niles wanted to do their part by implementing an extremely sustainable solution while creating an appealing, pedestrian friendly park in a highly urbanized area.

How They Work
Stormwater runoff gathers pollutants as it flows over the ground and impervious surfaces like roofs, driveways, sidewalks, streets and parking lots. All of these “hardscapes” prevent stormwater from soaking into the ground where it can be naturally filtered before entering an aquifer. The water instead runs directly into susceptible streams and water bodies, potentially causing adverse effects to plants, fish, animals and people.

Pollutants such as detergents, salt, grease, oil, automobile coolant, fertilizers, pesticides and organic pollutants such as leaves, grass clippings and sediment all make their way into the natural water system. Sometimes referred to as “non-point pollution,” these contaminants can be harmful to drinking water supplies and water bodies used for recreation, fishing and wildlife. In many cases, the pollutants have a high nutrient content and cause changes in the oxygen levels, which are detrimental to aquatic life, and promote toxic algae blooms.

In the Coca-Cola Rain Garden Project these types of pollutants are directed to the bio-swale and rain garden from the roofs and parking lots of adjacent businesses as well as a nearby municipal building.

By redirecting polluted stormwater runoff to a rain garden, the plants and soil serve as a natural filter to cleanse the water before being released into streams, rivers and lakes.

The landscape plants used in the Coca-Cola rain garden were all native to northeastern Illinois. It is important to note that the roots of these plants can be up to 10 feet deep with a very fibrous root structure while the roots for turf grass used in lawns across the United States are two inches deep. This shallow root depth of a typical turf grass lawn requires the plant to utilize a lot of water and fertilizer while native landscape plants in the Midwest need no watering or fertilizers once established. This is partly due to the fact that 80 percent of the plant mass for native plants is underground. This tremendous root structure can breakdown pollutants effectively and the deep tap roots can absorb water efficiently even in drought conditions where the upper soil levels are dry.

Beyond the benefits to the environment of reduced pollution and the impact on the North Branch of the Chicago River, this collaboration between Coca-Cola and Niles has provided a ready-to-see educational opportunity which elevates community awareness about the environment by implementing this sustainable project.

Implementing the Concept
Anyone can create a successful rain garden in the right location. Any naturally low-lying area that is already receiving urban runoff is a great location for this concept. A site with good sub-soil content that is conducive to infiltration of water is beneficial but not absolutely necessary. The native landscape will vary depending on the location in the country but almost all climates in the United States allow for rain gardens to function properly. Potential site locations include:

• A residence or business

• Existing park and open space ­facilities that need drainage ­improvements

• Planting island or boulevard that receive storm water runoff from the street

• A city hall

Soliciting community volunteers can help create important “buy-in” to this environmental effort and educate the public which is crucial to future environmental improvements.

Project Impact
The Coca-Cola Rain Garden attracted residents, political officials, schools and many other interested groups since it was constructed.

The project also fits into the Village of Niles goals to implement environmentally green projects. The village has established an Environmental Committee comprised of community and business members as well as village personnel and leadership. They have undertaken a number of initiatives, from working with their waste removal provider to replacing diesel fueled garbage trucks with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles, to recycling and distributing compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) to the community. The Village of Niles also hopes to develop a resident action plan whereby local residents and businesses can take steps on their own to make their homes and businesses greener.

The benefits of environmentally friendly stormwater solutions such as a rain garden in a development, business, residence, or in a community are many.

“It’s the beginning of something really great,” said Nicholas B. Blasé, mayor of the Village of Niles. “Not just in this community but something that will spread and spread throughout America because we are all talking about how we need to maintain our global quality and make our country a more beautiful place.” SLDT