BUILDING OUR FUTURE
Wenger Woods
Wenger Woods, a development of 10 houses in Brookville, is the Miami Valley's first low impact development site, using both pervious pavers and rain gardens to reduce storm water runoff. Studies have shown that up to 70 percent of the pollution in our streams, rivers and lakes is carried there by storm water.
Alternative Pavers
Storm water flows across streets and sidewalks picking up a variety of contaminants including – spilled oil, detergents, solvents, de-icing salts during freezing conditions, dead leaves, pesticides, fertilizer, air pollution particles deposited on the ground, and bacteria from pet waste – and carrying them into storm sewers and on to our rivers and streams. Keeping that storm water on each property and letting it filter into the ground is the simplest way to control these pollutants. Alternative pavers are one way to make that happen.
Alternative pavers are permeable or semi-permeable surfaces that can replace asphalt and concrete and can be used for driveways, parking lots and walkways. The two broad categories of alternative pavers are paving blocks and other surfaces including gravel, cobbles, wood, mulch, brick, and natural stone.
Tom McCoy, the builder of Wenger Woods,  installed pavers for the driveways and sidewalks at his development. Gaps were placed between each paver to allow water to infiltrate through the cracks and into the ground, significantly reducing runoff during rain storms.
When properly installed, pervious pavers and surfaces can help break down oils from cars and trucks, help rainwater soak into the soil, decrease urban heating, replenish groundwater, allow tree roots to breathe, and reduce total runoff, including the magnitude and frequency of flash flooding. And since there's less water running across the ground, driveways don't ice over as easily and require less salt or other de-icing agents.
Rain gardens
McCoy also installed around each home rain gardens. These attractive, landscaped areas are planted with perennial native plants that can stay wet for periods of time.
Rain gardens are just what they sound like – gardens that soak up rain water. They are built in depressions and are designed to capture and filter storm water runoff from impervious sufaces such as rooftops and driveways.
The gardens can fill with a few inches of water and allow the water to slowly filter into the ground rather than running off to storm drains. Compared to a patch of conventional lawn, a rain garden allows about 30 percent more water to soak into the ground.
By design, rain gardens require little maintenance and can improve aesthetics and property values.
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