WILMINGTON — Another rain garden project recently wrapped at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. This one is expected to capture about 1 million gallons of polluted runoff each year that otherwise would have dumped into the already threatened Bradley Creek.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation, UNCW staff and students, and the City of Wilmington’s Heal Our Waterways Program designed and built the newest rain garden at Suite Services Loop, using about $5,000 in funding from the North Carolina Division of Water Resources.
The linear rain garden, located near Schwartz Hall, is a continuation of a larger initiative the entities undertook about a year ago. In 2019 the partners constructed three other rain gardens on the college campus and installed permeable paving around storm drains.
Rain gardens are shaped as shallow depressions, creating a natural method of capturing rainwater that then absorbs it into the dirt before it can transport pollutants to nearby water sources.
“They’re kind of like a bowl,” said Lauren Kolodij, deputy director with the federation. “The rainwater actually flows into them and soaks into the ground, instead of flowing over the parking lot and walkways into the storm drains. It’s intercepted.”
The gardens are strategically placed in areas that were previously generating large volumes of runoff, usually adjacent to impervious surfaces such as parking lots or walkways. At the new site, the rainwater had been flowing over the landscape and sometimes reaching the creek that runs through the university.
Once the site was chosen, engineering firm Coastal Stormwater Services calculated the necessary depth, and Flora Landscapes excavated and planted, with the help of a few masked volunteers.
The result is an attractive landscaping feature that will help protect water quality for years to come.
UNCW owns the most land within the Bradley Creek watershed. As urbanization has continued, Bradley and Hewletts creeks have become victims to polluted stormwater runoff, with contaminants causing shellfish closures and swimming advisories. Increased development has heightened the issue by depleting vegetation while simultaneously hardening landscapes.
Over 10 years ago, the federation worked with the City of Wilmington to develop the watershed restoration plan, setting a framework for how the partners would protect and restore Bradley and Hewletts creeks’ water quality. The rain garden is just one of the solutions the partners have pursued since.
However, rain gardens actually offer more benefits than merely reducing runoff. The hope is that the garden will serve as a living classroom or as an inspiration for other property owners.
A landowner can easily make a positive environmental impact in their own front yard, by simply digging a rain garden themselves and adding some indigenous plants. The federation offers its free “Smart Yards” booklet that provides step-by-step instructions on how to do so.
“These techniques are fairly simple to install,” Kolodij said. “We’re hoping that this will be replicated on other properties, not just at the university but throughout the entire watershed.”
Plus, the rain gardens are filled with all native plants, which require little maintenance and flourish without harmful fertilizers. The perennials nourish and spread themselves, making the garden lusher over time and drawing birds, bees and other wildlife to the scene.
“It makes it a natural coastal habitat, which is also very attractive,” Kolodij said.
Send tips and comments to Alexandria Sands at alexandria@localdailymedia.com
