How To Transform Bleak Parking Lots Into Oasis Gardens
How Aaron Kauffman has created an easily replicable, low-cost, free water, rain garden / snow garden parking lot retrofit that is transforming high school and public park parking lots across Santa Fe, New Mexico with this innovative flood-controlling, water-conserving, groundwater-recharging green infrastructure.
Its all based on a seven-year research project he did at Santa Fe Community College that proved the concept, and how important rain garden topography is to maximize rainwater capture and minimize the effects of drought (look for an upcoming video on that).
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:06 Dehydrating infrastructure the project is transforming
1:42 Winter stormwater flow and capture
1:58 Rain garden retrofits fitting within a parking space (24 in this parking lot)
2:20 Size, capacity, and amount of water harvested in each rain garden
3:12 The rain gardens now harvest 500,000 gallons (1.8 million liters) of the 800,000 gallons (3 million liters that used to wastefully drain off the parking lots each year.
3:41 Dimensions based on 7-year study (see show notes) Aaron did that proved passively harvested stormwater can meet all rain garden plant water needs
3:55 That research is continuing with the high school rain gardens
4:10 Different soil types create different conditions for water infiltration and plant irrigation
5:31 How to address litter collection and pick up in rain gardens
6:27 Using leaf drop as a beneficial mulch and resource
7:08 How over excavation and introduction of more organic matter decompact the soil and enable quicker infiltration of stormwater and longer availability to plant roots
7:42 How new plantings are irrigated during establishment period 1-2 years after planting
7:54 Tree species used in project
8:16 Rain garden full of stormwater
9:22 Supplemental irrigation for establishment period is rain water trucked in from Aaron’s home rainwater tank
9:53 Diverter berm directing stormwater flow from parking lot gutter into rain garden
11:04 Sediment trap, its management of de-icing salts, and maintenance
12:36 Harvesting snow for its free irrigation water
14:08 Recharging groundwater indirectly and directly by planting the rain
14:44 How a living mulch of native grasses is being used to control weeds
16:18 Shrub/understory species used on project
17:34 How big the trees will get
17:59 Education signage for rain gardens
18:14 Other sustainability and money saving efforts at the school
19:03 Soil moisture data collection and research at the project
19:46 How this water harvesting work is spreading throughout the school district
20:20 How this water harvesting work is spreading to city parks
20:44 How this project has inspired water harvesting in new contruction so a retrofit is not needed
21:19 Cost of these rain garden retrofits
22:21 Best size of plants at time of planting to save money, time, and labor and speed up establishment
23:18 The old way of installing and irrigating landscapes that the rain gardens are replacing
25:13 More resources
Much of the video was filmed 9-2025 in Santa Fe, NM, with Aaron Kauffman providing additional plans, photos, and video over the project’s installation and life up till now.
Drone footage by Scott Hussion
Aaron’s 7-year study that found the pooling effect of rain garden basins is essential to drought-proofing water-conserving and water-harvesting landscapes
https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/2022/11/new-study-finds-the-pooling-effect-of-rain-garden-topography-essential-to-drought-proofing-water-conserving-water-harvesting-landscapes/
Aaron’s company Southwest Urban Hydrology
https://www.southwesturbanhydrology.com/
Rain garden planting zones and tips
https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/resources/rain-garden-planting-zones/
Plants of the Southwest native plant nursery in New Mexico
https://www.plantsofthesouthwest.com/
Additional Multi-Use Plant Lists & Nurseries for Water-Harvesting Landscapes, Goats, & Chickens
https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/resources/multi-use-plant-lists-for-water-harvesting-landscapes-goat-chickens/
Santa Fe Watershed Association
https://www.santafewatershed.org/
See the new, full-color, revised editions of Brad’s award-winning books
– available a deep discount, direct from Brad:
Volume 1
