MEDFORD, OR—On Tuesday, June 21, with large donations of material and labor from several local businesses, Medford Food Co-op members completed the Bioswale at their new building on 945 S. Riverside.
The city building code required that the Co-op’s storm water had to be managed on site. According to Jim Sims, Medford Food Co-op Board Member, “Supermarket parking lots usually deal with rainwater run-off with concrete, asphalt and drain culverts. Medford landscape professionals and our Co-op members had a different idea. They donated their skills and materials to manage our storm water with a Bioswale.” According to Sims, “Our Bioswale is a great example of how cooperative business accomplishes things. Our business is connected to the valley around us. There really was no question; we needed to protect the water quality of the valley.”
A bioswale is an excavated area lined with plants and soils that filter the storm water from building gutters and paved parking areas and gradually absorbs it back into the ground. Bioswales help restore the ground water cycle in cities where historically it’s been interrupted by pavement and sewer systems. Normally, groundwater supplies springs, wells, and feeds streams and rivers with a steady flow of cool water. In modern cities, rainwater running over pavement and through pipes picks up oils, detergents and garbage and runs quickly into streams, causing pollution, temperature swings, and rapid stream rise. Bioswales help protect local streams from sewer overflow and help restore a steady supply of cool clean groundwater to the rivers throughout the year.
In response to the need for storm water management, the Cooperative asked sponsors for assistance. Their contractor, Batzer Construction donated the excavation and site work. Kerry KenCairn, Landscape Architect, stepped up and offered her design services for the conceptual bioswale design . Mark Kamrath of CEC provided the civil engineering to determine the size of swale needed to contain the rainwater from a heavy thunderstorm, or after several days of rain and the overflow valve for it and to prescribe the right grass blend to filter the water, and survive both wet and dry conditions. Daniel and David Bish of Plant Oregon and Christie & Scott Mackison of Shooting Star Nursery selected and donated the native plantings, and the Grange Co-op donated landscaping cloth.
Plant Oregon and members of the Medford Food Co-op planted the bioswale on Thursday. The Bioswale is located in front of the Medford Food Co-op at 945 S. Riverside and it blends in well with the large shade trees and native landscaping at the site. The completion of the bioswale is another step closer to the completion of this long awaited community project.
