In an effort to improve water quality and flood control at Bear
Creek and the Everglade Swamp Watershed, the Town obtained Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources grant money. The grant money was used to construct
stormwater facilities along Fairwinds Drive just south of the Greenville
Elementary School and at the Greenville Public Works Yard along Parkview Drive.
The reasons for building these facilities are:
- To meet Wisconsin Department Natural Rescores and US Environmental Protection Agency water quality pollution reduction mandates for sediment and phosphorous.
- Reduce peak, or flood flows, for downstream areas.
- Reduce the amount of total water that makes it to the Everglade Swamp Watershed.
- Public Works Yard was considered a location of high pollutants that had the potential to enter state waterways.
- Reduce, or eliminate, the constant standing water in ditches along Fairwinds Drive from sump pump discharge.
But what is a rain garden?
A rain garden includes native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, and is generally formed on a natural slope. It’s designed to temporarily hold and soak in the rain water runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, patios or lawns. Rain gardens are effective in removing up to 90% of nutrients and chemicals and up to 80% of sediments from the rainwater runoff! Compared to a conventional lawn, rain gardens allow for 30% more water to soak into the ground.A rain garden is not a water garden. Nor is it a pond or a wetland. Conversely, a rain garden is dry most of the time. It typically holds water only during and following a rainfall event. Because rain gardens will drain within 12-48 hours, they prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.
To learn more about rain gardens, visit the Groundwater
Foundation website here: https://bit.ly/2CWJKuK
