Rain Garden will solve runoff problem
ANDOVER TWP — Thanks to a joint venture between Andover Township’s Environmental Commission and Sustainable Andover, Hillside Park will have an eco-friendly rain garden this summer. With additional help from Rutgers University and the local Boy Scouts, this collaborative effort will benefit the town at no cost to the taxpayer.
“Rain gardens acts as small detention bases to catch running water off roofs thus allowing for natural filtration into the ground,” said Eric Olsen of Andover Township’s environmental commission and chairperson of Sustainable Andover. “They are a really popular means to control storm water which damages aquatic health.”
The proposed rain garden will be situated in the grassy area by the lower parking lot of Hillside Barn adjacent to Lake Iliff. Normally the water would roll off the roof of the barn to the parking lot into the lake. The rain garden will be a natural solution to alleviate storm water damage by rolling into the garden.
The science to forming a rain garden was provided by a team from Rutgers University who came out to analyze all the needed components. After measuring the selected site and roof of Hillside Barn, they estimated that the garden will be either 300 or 600 square feet to be determined by additional soil tests. Also, it will be able to catch 1.25 inches of water over two hours. The garden will be fenced in housing native plants.
“The garden will be a mix of shrubs and flowering species making it look beautiful and attract butterflies. This way the storm water is filtrated back to the ground feeding the plants and mitigating the impact to hard surfaces,” said Olsen.
Sixteen year-old Ryan Bills, a student at Sussex County Technical School is the participating boy scout. Every spring, Andover Township does joint projects with Eagle Scouts matching their skills with the needs around town. Bills is designing the actual garden.
“Through research and a manual from Rutgers, I made a picture of it on Photoshop and documentation on each plan,” said Bills. “I have to do a service project, and this one is a big one.”
The next step is for the environmental commission to discuss it and choose the more feasible plan. Olsen is working closely with Mayor Tom Walsh and Chair of environmental commission Christine Kretzmer,
“With plans finalized, we should be ready to go mid-June. The actual building of the garden is one to two days,” said Olsen. “Developers build storm drains that empty into detention bases. The grand idea is that we replicate this for businesses that may want this as an alternative to a detention base.”
Olsen noted that the Andover’s newly constructed 1.5 mile trail has drawn lot of people into the area and allows for an opportunity of awareness and education: “The trail is a great amenity for locals and is drawing people from all over. The town did a great job with it. Once the garden is built, there will be a sign educating people on the function of the rain garden.”
All services are being donated, and the completion of the project will provide Andover Township with ten points towards bronze certification through the Sustainable Jersey program.