rap #301 11/12/08
MORE “RAIN GARDEN” STORMWATER BASINS ON THE WAY
SOME OCEAN COUNTY stormwater basins will be retrofitted into “rain gardens” in an effort to protect the
Barnegat Bay from runoff and nonpoint source pollution.
The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders will enter into an agreement with the state Department of
Environmental Protection for the upgrade of a number of stormwater detention basins into more environmentally friendly
rain gardens.
“Traditional stormwater basins are often compacted and do not recharge the water into the ground as intended,”
said Freeholder Gerry P. Little. “Instead, the basins can overflow, with the water and pollutants flowing into nearby
bodies of water, including Barnegat Bay.
Standing water can also create health problems such as the breeding of mosquitoes.
Little said the rain garden program has already been successful in Ocean County.
In 2002 the Freeholders and DEP signed an agreement that brought $200,000 in state money to the county for the
retrofit of 15 drainage basins into rain garden systems.
“The success of that program led to this new agreement for an additional $371,482 from the DEP,” Little said.
The money will be used to uncompact the soil at existing basins, add organic material and plant native
vegetation that will aid in the recharge and filtering of the water back into the ground, he said.
Stormdrains to be upgraded will be identified in-part through a related mapping project completed by the
Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Reserve, Ocean County, the Ocean County Soil Conservation District and the DEP.
“Basins will be assessed on a case-by-case basis,” Little said. “What works at one location may not be
feasible at a second.”
The success of the original rain garden program has already led the county to enforce innovative construction
requirements for new projects.
“Developers are now required to test and certify that newly constructed basins are not compacted and that they
drain properly,” Little said.
Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said the rain garden effort is part of the county’s larger ongoing effort
to protect the Barnegat Bay.
Choosing native plants for landscaping and gardens can also protect the bay, Vicari said.
Recently, Little took part in the dedication of a native-plant garden in Harvey Cedars. The American Littoral Society
planted the garden at the Maris Stella Retreat & Conference Center to show the beauty and environmental benefits of
growing flora indigenous to the region.
