On Rainy Day, The Eco-Conscious Herald Innovative Niles Rain Garden

Is it wrong to stand in a rain garden and complain about rain and cold weather?

People who came to the Niles Community Rain Garden rededication Tuesday afternoon did complain about the cold, whipping wind--but only a little. 

Mostly, they talked about how the rain garden reduces flooding, captures the rainwater runoff from nearby buildings and parking lots and filters that water. 

"This is a personal passion of mine, and of our company. Our commitment is to return to the environment all the water we use to produce our products," said David Katz, senior vice president of Coca Cola Refreshments for the Midwest region, as village officials and others gathered to hear a presentation under a canopy erected in the rain garden. 

Coca Cola, which has a Niles bottling plant that supplies Chicago and much of the Midwest with Coke products, partnered with the village of Niles in 2008 to develop  the Niles Community Rain Garden. Employees have donated volunteer labor and the company has donated money, including a check for $3,500 Katz presented to the village of Niles Tuesday. 

Many other volunteers and donors have also been instrumental in making the rain garden a reality, however. 

Almost everything on the site came from donors and volunteers, including Com Ed, the Niles Lions Club, Home Depot, Groot Industries  and Christopher Zalinski of Niles-based Chris' Landscaping Inc., who provided landscaping expertise, said Niles Mayor Robert Callero, who also credited Coca Cola for its leadership role.

"Since summer 2008, the idea for this site...came to be with the help of Coca Cola Bottling,"  Callero said.

The company also is donating 125 rain barrels, which help reduce flooding and conserve water, to the village.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has acknowledged the Niles rain garden, a concept which it defined as "a planted depression that collects and filters rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, and compacted lawn areas. It reduces the runoff by allowing stormwater to seep naturally into the ground instead of flowing into storm drains and surface waters which can cause erosion, pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater."

The rain garden is part of a larger vision for flood reduction and environmental efforts in Niles. 

Zalinski said the village has an environmental committee, which would like to see residents create rain gardens in their yards and use rain barrels to capture water from gutters during rainstorms. 

While measures like those would let homeowners provide water stewardship, Katz outlined three major ways--reduce, recycle and replace-- Coca Cola is conserving water in its production facilities, including the Niles location. 

The company is reducing the amount of water it uses in its manufacturing process. For example, it uses ionized air to clean bottles instead of washing them with water, Katz said. For the recyling portion, it re-uses rinse water, for instance in the boilers.

Finally, the company replaces and replenishes water with rain barrels and with  projects like the Niles Community Rain Garden, said Katz, who formerly served on the board of the River Network, whose members mostly consist of watershed groups.