Hi C2g. Sorry I didn't see this earlier - you probably have already scrapped your plans. You are doing a good thing by putting in rain gardens and disconnecting from the storm sewer! Good for you! Your local river thanks you! That said, a rain garden should be at *least* 10' away from your foundation, and the grade should be sloped away from your foundation too. In clay, the rain garden should be sized so it is 30% of the size of the roof area that drains to it. It looks like you have plenty of space elsewhere in your yard, farther from the house. If there is somewhere that is downhill of your house, where you could pipe the water under that pathway to the new rain garden, that would work fine. I have designed and built at least 20 rain gardens, and am the rain garden coordinator for Washtenaw County, Michigan. Feel free to ask me more questions. Rain gardens are a great thing. But there are some very important design requirements to follow. Nandina is right to follow your gut. Right next to a basement is not a good idea. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Washtenaw Co Rain Garden Page

Well, the aquifer the water is stored in is surrounded by limestone which happens to be the foundation for my soil. The majority of the water for my garden comes from the hose. So all of those things in the water that makes it hard is being added to the already alkaline soil. Most of the plants in my vegetable garden handle this okay, some of my roses, not as much and my Japanese maples get rain water, only. Of the 2 outdoor spigots on my house, one gets water through the softener and one does not. I hook the hose up to the one that does not, just due to the high price of the potassium. I give dirty looks to the person in the house who will sometimes use the other spigot out of convenience. If I have to water a more sensitive plant with the hard water, I sometimes add some vinegar to react with the limestone. I also make a point to make sure to leave some beds open (i.e., do not cover all with row cover fabric) so that any little of natural precipitation I get can help leach out some of the build up from the water.

Ok, so it took me a little longer than I expected to get back to this:) I want to pick up something from home depot or lowes tomorrow, and was wondering if 1 inch 100 psi pipe is strong enough. I'm not going to worry about flow rates at this point, since I have too many other things to get done. But I'm just wondering if 100 psi will probably be strong enough, if my meter inside reads 45 psi. Does anyone know if that should work, or if I need something with a higher psi rating? Thanks.

Mrs Desert, I fully understand your dilemma and "only reasonable solution" - at least you now know the "true" value of the water. Treat it preciously! Someone above suggested drip systems. In your area, a drip system could loose 75% water due to evaporation. The best solution would be to use sub-surface ceramic pots. I am now coming up to my 7th year of using these pots, buried at the roots of the plant, and when carrying out periodical tests, I find them in perfect condition (they do get a "nest" of roots attached to their surround). Since the sub-surface pots are gravity feed, there is no need for regulators etc... and they are simple to install. I make these pots in batch mode using a simple slip cast method. Partially glazed, fired and finally adding a rubber cork with a sealing compound then fitted with regular 1/4" tube fittings - should you want details please contact me. May be a hand project to take up the extra time you may have living in the desert. All the best - Shaz