The Public Works facility is LEED certified and contains many beneficial water quality features, including extensive native plantings throughout the site. This uniform and more compact stand of native sideoats grama grass is perfect for entryways.

August is Water Quality Awareness Month, a month devoted to protecting our precious natural resource: water. Fresh water brings many benefits to our community, from drinking water to recreational opportunities to habitat for wildlife.

Water quality is under threat from trash and pollutants, which can enter our waterways through stormwater runoff and flooding. Streams, if protected from urban-related degradation, will safely convey rainfall during storms, preventing flooding and danger to people and property.

Johnson County’s Stormwater Management Program is focused on improving water quality in our lakes and streams. This August, we’re going to focus on how everything we do in our community is connected to the quality of our freshwater systems – streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands.

Nothing protects our waters better than existing natural systems. For example, a tallgrass prairie or a mature forest can intercept much more rainwater than a turfgrass lawn. Imagine the difference between a natural system and a parking lot, where rainwater falls and picks up pollutants, trash and heat as it runs into storm drains and directly into our streams.

We try to mimic the natural system throughout Johnson County with green stormwater infrastructure facilities. Green stormwater infrastructure uses plants, soil, and other natural materials to manage rainwater runoff instead of pipes, helping to clean water, prevent flooding and create green spaces.

The building has downspouts that direct all roof runoff into bioswales.

Examples of things we can do in urban spaces to slow and clean the stormwater before it reaches our streams:

• Large-scale native planting – a mix of plants, native wildflowers and grasses, usually established from seed.

• Bioswales – a vegetated channel or ditch that's designed to collect, filter, and direct stormwater runoff.

• Rain gardens – a depressed area in the landscape that collects rain water from a roof, driveway or street and allows it to soak into the ground.

• Tree box – concrete box that's installed underground and filled with soil, mulch, and plant roots to treat stormwater runoff. 

Even though we try to treat as much stormwater as possible with these natural systems, much is coming off rooftops and driveways and straight into storm drains. This is where you come in: Stormwater management projects – such as rain barrels and rain gardens – help combat stormwater runoff.

These projects collect stormwater for use in your yard and garden. Rain gardens with deep-rooted native plants capture and treat the rainwater that falls on your roof – a great way to protect our freshwater ecosystems. You can also plant native trees and shrubs in your yard to beautify our community and provide habitat for birds and pollinators.

The bioswales are designed to capture stormwater from buildings as well as the parking lots. Thick stands of deep rooted native plants infiltrate the runoff and treat it prior to it moving down into stormdrains and our streams.

Through the Contain the Rain program, the county funds cities’ stormwater cost-share programs, reimbursing 50% of the cost of stormwater management projects. While many cities have already exhausted their funding for 2023, it’s never too early to start thinking about a project for next year – the program will reopen in spring 2025.

If it’s on the ground, it’s in the water. In addition to stormwater management projects, there are simple, everyday things you can do to protect our water quality. These tips can help combat pollution and flooding:

• Dispose of leaves and yard waste so it doesn’t end up in our waterways.
• Pick up pet waste, as it belongs in the bin, not on the trail.
• Pick up trash, as it can harm aquatic life if it makes it into streams and rivers.
• Limit use of fertilizer, a cause of toxic blue-green algae in local lakes.