The City of Dacula has several ordinances designed to prevent damage and contamination from stormwater runoff. At the Jan. 5 Dacula City Council meeting, Mayor Jimmy Wilbanks delivered his biannual stormwater address to remind citizens of the need to avoid polluting area streams, rivers and lakes.

Wilbanks advocated the use of rain gardens to help capture and clean stormwater runoff from roofs (see video). A rain garden is a natural or shallow-dug depression in the ground to which runoff can be diverted and allowed to soak into the ground rather than running directly into storm drains. Wilbanks suggested using native plants such as cinammon ferns, blackeyed Susans, asters, violets and swamp hibiscus to populate the garden.

For more about stormwater and pollutants, visit the Clean Water Campaign website.