Rain garden taking shape in Waynesburg Park
Project intended to address stormwater issue
For anyone walking past Ritchie Park next year caught off guard by the tall grasses, the borough will be putting up signs with a comforting message.
Don’t worry: They’re not just being lazy and letting weeds grow.
Instead, a new rain garden is taking shape in the heart of Waynesburg.
Early construction has finished for the garden, which is located in Ritchie Park, said Assistant Borough Manager Bryan Cumberledge.
Funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the project has been in the works for about three years. PennDOT was required to create wetland space to mitigate extra stormwater runoff created by a project along Route 88 in eastern Greene County, Gannett Fleming project engineer Robert Dengler told the Waynesburg council last year.
“They were looking for a project, and we were looking for a rain garden, and we were working with the (Greene County) Conservation District about how to get one,” Cumberledge said. “And the conservation guy found out about the PennDOT guy and put everybody together.”
The Conservation District recommended putting one at Ritchie Park, which had previously experienced flooding problems, Cumberledge said.
The gardens consist of a hole or trench filled with native plants to help absorb rainwater.
“It was definitely engineered for what kind of species really love the water and do good in rain gardens,” he said.
Cumberledge called it a win-win for PennDOT and the borough.
With a garden in place, the rain can infiltrate the ground rather than running off into neighboring properties or storm systems.
Stormwater was a major culprit behind the 19,000 miles of rivers and streams in Pennsylvania which were labeled as impaired, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
The hole for the garden has been dug and beds laid out for trees and other vegetation, which Cumberledge anticipated would be planted next spring.
The water-loving plants can trap up to two days of rain, Cumberledge told the council last week. They’re designed to stop short of the seven days it would take for mosquito larvae to incubate, preventing it from becoming a breeding ground.
As the state starts requiring municipalities to get permits for its storm drains through the DEP, Cumberledge said the rain gardens can benefit the borough in another way.
“One kind of feather in your hat is to have one of these,” he said. “So at least we’ll have something done ahead of time that will help us with our permitting process.”