I was recently asked to come out and look over a new raingarden that had been designed by a reputable local landscape architecture firm. But I had been asked to take a look because it really didn't seem to the owner (a public entity) to fit the definition of a raingarden. Sure enough, the garden fit right into the profile of the slope, and did not provide a means of detention or opportunity for infiltration. I checked the design drawings which provided a planting plan with a note to set the garden six inches below the surrounding surface - not a bad start but not really a raingarden design. But it made me think again about a question I had received previously - who designs raingardens and why?
I checked with the Board of Professional Engineers for Oklahoma and the Board for Landscape Architects. And there is some confusion. Apparently there is joint commission that discusses and decides on such issues and I recommended that this could be a good question to consider. The feedback I received was that landscape architects should develop and stamp landscaping plans. But because LID features are designed, or should be designed, for stormwater collection, conveyance or treatment, the sizing and hydrology (how much water and where it goes) should be stamped by an engineer. Ah, interdisciplinary design. We get to all work together. Now, if we just would.
