In upstate New York,spring is a time of abundant moisture.

The high amounts of snow melt and rainfall not only bring spring flowers but also yucky looking waters! However, this is not the only time of year we should be concerned about water quality.

Every day we impact the quality of our water. Containments from driveways, neighborhood roads and parking lots or over fertilized lawns and forgotten septic systems all negatively impact our local waterways. So what can we do?

It is often difficult to pinpoint every source of pollution.

Therefore making a change in our water quality may require many people taking strides to reduce pollution.

A great way to begin making a difference would be by creating a rain garden.

A rain garden is a landscaped depression that captures rain from a downspout, patio, roof or other impervious surface.

The #“depression#” is actually very beautiful, especially since it is created and planted with a variety of perennial flowers and/or shrubs.

Some of these include: cardinal flower, Siberian and blue flag iris, pagoda and red stemmed dogwoods, native magnolia and elderberry, day lilies, swamp milk weeds, sedges, hosta, and ferns.

Water that is diverted to a rain garden helps nourish the plants, filter and absorb rainwater and storm water, recharge aquifers and reduce runoff that could be harmful to your water quality.

Rain gardens have worked so well in improving water quality that Kansas City, Mo. has a goal of creating 10,000 of them.

Residential rain gardens are typically 300 to 500 square feet, located in the lowest elevation and are shaped to merge with the rest of the property.

However, evaluating your property for slop, soil type and location of nearby gutters, driveways and available space will give you a better idea of how large or small of a garden you may need.

If you are interested in creating a rain garden, please join us from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10 at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, located at 248 Grant Ave, Auburn.

Guest speaker Sharon Anderson of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network will give a presentation on rain gardens.

Participants will receive a free copy of Smart Steps for Clean Water, which is full of easy actions you can take to keep water clean #- at home, in your car or while fishing and boating. For more information about rain gardens, visit www.cayugalake.org.

To register, contact me at Cornell Cooperative Extension at 255-1183 or rej9@cornell.edu.

Renee Jensen is a community educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County