Stormwater and rain garden systems design

---

The Challenge:  

Only 5% of the rain that falls on Los Angeles makes it back into the ground to recharge our badly depleted aquifer. The remaining 95% runs off impervious surfaces, becomes polluted, and then runs into the LA River. It then makes its way to the Pacific, still gathering pollutants, causing beach closures and impairing marine life. 

The challenge: How do we turn this around? Rainwater should never become stormwater.

The Strategy: 

Eco Lake has employed Low Impact Development techniques laid out by global conservation group The Surf Rider Foundation and innovative landscape architects. 

These have been used to develop a criterion for intercepting, treating, and returning rainwater and stormwater back to the aquifer clean. 

The Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFGs) apply CPR - Conservation, Permeability and Retention to our landscapes, hardscapes and streets. 

These principles allow soil to act like a sponge to help restore the helpful functions of watersheds. This work helps expand the conservation commity efforts to protect local water supplies and prevent pollution from reaching the ocean. 

They also reduce flooding, pull carbon from the air and into plants and soil, and create wildlife habitat.