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Rain Gardens
Rain gardens can improve your street by reducing ponding, providing summer shade, and greening your community. Most importantly, rain gardens improve the environment by allowing rain to be naturally absorbed into the ground instead of flowing into the sewer system. We have successfully built thousands of Green Infrastructure installations, like rain gardens, across New York City. To report a maintenance issue, please call 311 or submit a report online.
Download the NYC Rain Gardens Brochure.
Stewardship Volunteer Signup
Our Rain Garden Stewardship Program enables community members to volunteer to help care for their neighborhood rain gardens. If you would like to sign up to volunteer, please fill in the Rain Garden Stewardship Interest Form.
To view rain gardens that are eligible for stewardship, use the Green Infrastructure Map. (Instructions: When you open the map, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “layers list.” Then select the box next to “Rain Garden Stewardship” and de-select all remaining boxes to reveal rain gardens that are eligible for stewardship.)
Download the Rain Garden Stewardship Program Maintenance Manual to learn more about what rain garden stewards do and why it is important.
Rain Garden FAQs
What do rain gardens do?
When it rains, rainwater or “stormwater runoff” flows down the street gutter along the curb and into the rain garden. The collected stormwater is absorbed by the sandy soil on the top (engineered soil) and stone layer at the bottom, and seeps into the ground underneath in a process called “infiltration”. Some of the water will be absorbed by the trees and plants through evapotranspiration, and any remaining water will evaporate after the rain event is over. During a heavy rainstorm, stormwater goes into the rain garden, but some water may go past the inlet and go straight into the catch basin. If the rain garden reaches capacity, the stormwater will overflow at the outlet and go into the catch basin the way it normally would.
How does DEP care for rain gardens?
We care for New York City’s expansive network of Rain Gardens citywide. We inspect them on a regular basis, as well as remove litter and sediment that stormwater may have carried in. We also pull weeds, prune trees and shrubs, and monitor plants to make sure they are thriving.
Do rain gardens attract mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes require a minimum of 72 hours in standing water for larvae development. Rain gardens are designed to drain in 48 hours or less. If your rain garden does not appear to be draining properly, please call 311.
Do rain gardens prevent people from walking on the sidewalk or block driveways and building entrances?
No, we work with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that rain gardens comply with the City’s requirements for pedestrian access and safety.
Do rain gardens remove parking?
Most rain gardens are installed in the sidewalk and are designed to have no impact on parking. When larger rain gardens are proposed, we work with DOT work to minimize parking impacts.
Do tree roots crack the sidewalk or interfere with utility lines?
During design and construction, we work with utility companies to ensure that rain gardens will not directly interfere with existing underground and above-ground utility service lines. Older tree roots can break sidewalks because the tree pit is not large enough for the tree roots. But the City’s standard rain gardens are at least 10 feet long, which gives tree roots plenty of space to grow.
Contractors have been working on rain gardens in my neighborhood and there are tree guards but no plants. Why are these sites still unfinished?
Construction on rain gardens may begin at different times throughout the year. However, planting of the rain gardens must occur during the spring or fall season when conditions are optimal for planting. Construction on these rain gardens may have begun earlier in order to be ready for the next appropriate planting season.