George Mills Memorial Rain Garden

  • Pictorial depiction of the garden plan.
  • View of the garden in winter.
  • View of the waterfall feature in the garden.
  • View of the garden with storage tanks in the background.
  • Receiving the award at the board meeting.

Overview

  • Category: Educational/Government - Civic
  • Organization Location: Alpine, Texas
  • Activity: Managed stormwater collection for an environmental garden park.

Background:

The George Mills Memorial Rain Garden is located at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center in Alpine. The project consists of managed stormwater collected from nearby roadways and channeled into a storage basin that is augmented by water harvested from the center’s rooftop into two 2,500-gallon cisterns. This combination of sources irrigates an 8,000 square foot park.

The park was engineered to retain up to 25,000 gallons of runoff and sculpted to simulate five ecological biomes of the Trans-Pecos region. The park captures large volumes of urban runoff, decreasing municipal water demand, flooding, and non-point pollution. The garden is used as a teaching tool for area civic and school groups and is open to the public.

2017 winners:

Top