Case Studies > Haddam Demonstration Site > Rain Garden

Rain Garden

Rain gardens are shallow depressions in the landscape that typically include plants and a mulch layer or ground cover. In addition to providing increased groundwater recharge, they are expected to provide pollutant treatment. Pollutant treatment in rain gardens has been attributed to adsorption, decomposition, ion exchange and volatilization.

Roof runoff control is also the aim of the rain garden demonstration, a collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources Management and Engineering (NRME). NRME's John Clausen worked with the NEMO Program to create a vegetated rain garden to receive runoff from the back half of the Center's large conference room roof. The rain garden is a research project that monitored and analyzed both the quantity and quality of roof runoff as it entered and flowed through the garden.

The rain garden has been used as a demonstration for a variety of workshops through NEMO, Cooperative Extension, and the Department of Natural Resources Management and Engineering at the University of Connecticut. They continue to be a valuable teaching tool to show individuals, town staff and maintenance personnel how the impacts of urban runoff can be reduced.

--> Learn more about the rain garden Research results.

--> Learn more about how rain gardens perform in the winter.

--> View the Haddam Rain Garden photo gallery.

NEW!!

--> View the new publication: "Rain Gardens in Connecticut: A Design Guide for Homeowners", created by Mike Dietz and Karen Filchak

The guide provides simple yet detailed information on how to construct a rain garden at your own home, including a plant list.

Funding

Funding for installation of the rain garden, and a related educational training workshop, was provided by the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources.

Funding for the monitoring and research project was provided by the CT DEP Long Island Sound Fund, administered through sale of Long Island Sound license plates and contributions. The project was also funded in part by the CT DEP through a US EPA nonpoint source grant under §319 of the Clean Water Act.

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