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CITY OF PUYALLUP Office of the City Engineer 333 S Meridian Puyallup, WA 98371 ver.2020July Rain Garden Maintenance Plan City of Puyallup Rain Garden Program Overview The City of Puyallup Rain Garden Program is designed to provide education and outreach to residents on the benefits and application of rain gardens, rainwater harvesting and permeable pavements. As a volunteer participant in the program, you have agreed to have a rain garden installed on your property. Your rain garden – a stormwater facility – helps to remove pollutants from stormwater and infiltrate stormwater in to the ground. Goals and Objectives Limited maintenance and upkeep is necessary to ensure that your stormwater facility continues to function as intended including filtering of stormwater to remove pollutants and infiltrating the filtered stormwater into the ground. The Preventative Maintenance section of this document provides guidance for proper maintenance of your rain garden. This plan follows the direction given by the City and its affiliates when your rain garden was installed and/or approved. For more information, please refer to the Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington Homeowners - by Washington State University Extension – for additional details on appropriate rain garden maintenance and procedures. Any significant changes to your garden should be developed in consultation with the City’s Stormwater Engineer. Changes shall be approved in writing by the Stormwater Engineer or his/her designee. Please attach drawings of any proposed changes to your garden. Preventative Maintenance To keep your rain garden looking its best, and functioning properly, please remember to follow these preventative maintenance steps: 1. Mulch annually, per Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington Homeowners 2. During the first 2-3 years, water deeply during the dry season 3. DO NOT FERTILIZE the plants in the rain garden, they receive all the nutrients they need from the compost-amended soil, and annual mulching 4. Weed regularly, as needed 5. Guard against and prevent erosion, per Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington Homeowners 6. Perform annual inspections using the attached Annual Inspection Checklist (and submit a copy to the City to meet reporting requirements). ---PAGE BREAK--- CITY OF PUYALLUP Office of the City Engineer 333 S Meridian Puyallup, WA 98371 ver.2020July Reporting Requirements To ensure proper maintenance and adherence to the aforementioned Plan, you are required to submit a completed copy of the attached Rain Garden Annual Inspection Checklist to the City of Puyallup annually. Completed forms and requested attachments can be mailed to the above address, or emailed to the City at: [EMAIL REDACTED]. Along with the checklist, please include a current picture(s) of your rain garden. Include as many or few pictures necessary to show: • Entire garden • Inflow (where downspout enters garden) • Outflow (rocky area opposite end from inflow) • Plants Attachments Rain Garden Inspection Checklist, for use with annual reporting ---PAGE BREAK--- 1 I P a g e CITY OF PUYALLUP 333 South Meridian Puyallup WA 98371 Rain Garden Inspection Checklist Complete this form and submit it to the Private Stormwater Program Inspector at the address above, or email to: [EMAIL REDACTED]. Include photographs of the rain garden as discussed in the Reporting Requirements section of the Maintenance Plan. Property Information Property Owner: Phone: Street Address: City, State & Zip: Email: Rain Garden Inspection Checklist Y N Comments 1. Have you removed any stray trash, litter, or yard waste from your rain garden? 2. Have any plants failed or died this year? 3. If so, what type(s) of plants have you used (or do you plan to use) to replace them? 4. Is the plant composition still following the approved plans? 5. Is there any evidence of erosion, or soil being washed away in your garden? ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 I P a g e CITY OF PUYALLUP 333 South Meridian Puyallup WA 98371 Rain Garden Inspection Checklist Rain Garden Inspection Checklist Y N Comments 6. Is the mulch layer still in place (3-4” thick)? 7. Does the rain garden infiltrate water between rain storms? 8. Is there anything blocking your overflow area? 9. Have any noxious plants or weeds invaded/appeared in your garden over the last year? 10. Have you made any changes to your garden in the past year? For example, added a border, removed plants, reshaped the garden, filled in any portion or enlarged the garden, or placed decorative rocks in the garden? (please describe changes in the comment area) 11. Do you plan to make any significant changes to your garden in the upcoming year? Property Owner Signature Date City of Puyallup Received by Date Comments