Diverting Roadside Run-off to Raingarden

Coral Bay’s Wetlands Park

On the corner of King’s Hill road, you’ll find a tiny, vibrant park. CBCC refers to this area as the Wetlands Park. Coral Bay’s very own, Gary Clendenin, cares for the many plants you can find there and maintains the area. You might remember that after the storms, this area was a mess. Many of the previously residing plants had been decimated and there was about an eight-foot-high pile of hurricane debris. 

 

CBCC’s started a project funded by a grant from VI DPNR CZM, which was actually from NOAA federal funds. The project aimed to divert the roadside runoff along Kings Hill Road, Route 20, into a raingarden setting in a corner park that drains into a wetland. This will serve two important stormwater management purposes. The first purpose was to stop flows of sediment and petrochemicals-laden stormwater runoff from entering the mangrove shoreline and marine nursery of Coral Bay during routine small rainfalls. The second purpose was to deliver the water to a raingarden area with outflows into the nearby wetlands, which will allow natural processes in the soil to remove and treat the above contaminants.

The park that you see functions as the raingarden, which Gary has been the volunteer manager of, working hard to keep the area neat and usable for people’s enjoyment, and protecting the natural habitat and historic features. As a thank you for his consistent volunteer work and commitment to keeping this corner of Coral Bay beautiful and useful, he receives a monthly stipend from CBCC provided by your dues and donations. Stop by and say Thank you to Gary!