Demonstration Rain Garden Reduces Runoff in Southbury

​​This summer’s rain garden installation at Community House Park in Southbury, Connecticut was a big success! Over the course of four extremely hot and humid days, our Youth Conservation Corps dug and shaped the 1000 square foot bed of the garden and planted it with 350 native plants. Placed in a highly visible location along a busy state road and complete with interpretive signage, the garden serves as a demonstration site for all to visit and to learn about the functions and benefits of rain gardens.

This particular rain garden has the ability to capture approximately 7500 gallons of stormwater in a 1-inch rain storm, water that would otherwise flow as stormwater runoff into South Branch Bullet Hill Brook (multiply that by nearly 52 inches of precipitation a year for a runoff reduction of 390,000 gallons). By giving this water a place to infiltrate into the soil, the rain garden also reduces the load of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the stream respectively by 2.2 lbs/year and 0.4 lbs/year. ​

Funding for the project was made possible through a Watershed Assistance Small Grants Program grant administered by Rivers Alliance of Connecticut. Generous in-kind support was provided by the Town of Southbury and Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery and Landscaping. Volunteers will be needed on a regular basis to help maintain the garden (weeding, watering, and mulching). Please look for volunteer work day announcements in the spring.