Catching roof runoff

A rain garden in the park

By FRITZ MAYER

TOWN OF BETHEL, NY — The rainwater running down the roof from the concession stand had created an unsightly water-gouged area and allowed the water to run unfiltered into the lake. The creation of a rain garden at the spot where the water collected was the solution to both of those conditions.

The attractive, though modest, garden was unveiled at Lake Superior State Park on September 2, when a handful of local officials gathered at the site for the ceremony. The park is operated by the Sullivan County Department of Public Works (DPW), which partnered with the division of planning, Sullivan Renaissance and Tri-Valley High School to create the rain garden.

Rain gardens have lately become a popular way for homeowners, and those with larger areas to manage such as commercial parking lots, to manage runoff. Like most rain gardens, this one features native plants with deep roots, which can capture and filter the runoff water and thereby reduce the amount of contaminants that enter the lake.

The garden is planted in a depression, which can hold the water during a rainstorm and allow it to slowly seep into the ground after the rain.

The plants in the garden include Joe-Pye weed, Maltese Cross flowers, swamp milk weed, butterfly weed, native grasses and ferns.

Denise Frangipane, program development officer with Sullivan Renaissance, said, “We hope this project will inspire others to consider how to use gardens and work with the natural landscape to address issues of erosion and storm water runoff.