In Korea, most rainfall events occur during summer which then leads to an increasing concern regarding high influx
of non-point source pollutants since the pollutant loadings from these non-point sources are very significant. In
particular, the first flush of roof-harvested rainfall is said to contain the most highest concentration of nutrients and
heavy metals. Accordingly, it is important to develope the possible water quality management options in treating the
contaminants and considering reclaimed water reuse. The rain garden could be one of suitable alternatives in
addressing this issue. In this study, the development of an effective adsorption media and its application to a lab-scale
rain garden was tested to evaluate the removal rate of various nutrient and organic matter (TN, TP, CODcr), and
heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb). Results showed that carbonized peatmoss produced at higher temperature have better
adsorption capacity as compared to the one produced at a lower temperature. When the carbonized peatmoss was
applied as rain garden media, the highest removal of TN, TP, and CODcr was observed compared to no carbonized
peatmoss applied rain garden. Therefore, this study showed that the carbonized peatmoss would be effectively applied
to the rain garden for removing nutrients and heavy metals from roof-harvested rainwater.