Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jasmine Mieszala | Bethany Hill, environmental protection specialist with the facilities department at...... read more read more
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One of the steps the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore is taking is reducing pollution from storm water runoff by planting rain gardens in several places on the campus. On the surface, rain gardens look like regular gardens, but underneath, they’re serving an important purpose.
When it rains, storm water trickles down off of rooftops and collects in parking lots or on other hard surfaces, said Lt. Kristopher Kidd, project manager at the facilities department at Coast Guard Yard Baltimore. In parking lots, the storm water picks up oil from vehicles along with other sediments and travels down into the drainage system, eventually spreading pollution into the nearby creek.
A typical rain garden consists of a shallow depression in the ground planted with native plants, loose soil, mulch and sometimes stone. Soils and plants are chosen for the specific needs and location of the rain garden.
The way the garden gets its water and what happens to that water is what makes it a rain garden. Below the surface, several biological processes occur, which mimic the processes of a healthy forest floor. As storm water passes through the soil mixture, biological and chemical processes break down the pollutants and remove them from the water naturally.
There are two basic types of rain gardens, under-drained and self-contained. Under-drained rain gardens are designed to drain within two hours following the rainstorm. Self-contained rain gardens are designed to hold moisture much longer.
“The type of rain garden chosen depends on a few factors, specifically, the volume of water taken in to be treated, soil conditions, available space and the budget for the project,” said Kidd.
Rain gardens are generally comprised of three zones. Zone one is the centermost area and should be stocked with plants that can handle standing water for longer periods of time. Zone two should be stocked with plants that can handle occasional standing water, and zone three three should be stocked with plants that are rarely wet for any length of time.
Last year, Coast Guard Yard personnel held an Earth Day celebration, and the first two rain gardens were built with the help of more than 75 volunteers. One of each type of rain garden was built.
“The project to build the first two rain gardens was proposed as not only a way to contribute to Earth Day events and to help better the environment but to also help meet the requirements of Maryland law to remediate storm water runoff,” said Kidd.
Maryland law states having an industrial waterfront requires at least 20 percent remediation of storm water based on the size of the industrial land.
It’s important to keep meeting the requirements of the law, but it’s also important to keep improving the place we live and work every day, added Kidd.
The Yard held a similar event this year, attracting more than 50 volunteers to build an additional rain garden in the north parking lot near the entrance of the base.
The new rain garden will filter up to 81, 500 gallons of water per rain event.
“The plan is to build at least one rain garden per year,” said Bethany Hill, environmental protection specialist with the facilities department at Coast Guard Yard Baltimore. “We put a big rain garden on the side of Building 1 last year, but we’d like to build a smaller one nearby to help handle more of the storm water over there. There are a few possibilities.”
The Yard also held an education fair on the same day, set up on the parade field near the Earth Day cookout. The fair focused on pollution prevention and had booths set up, staffed by partner agencies.
“Earth Day is very good opportunity to do something great for the environment,” said Hill. “It’s definitely a group effort. Environmentalists facilitate a lot of things, but we need the participation of others. We need everyone to get involved to make it work, and we should make it work because we live here.”
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.17.2016 14:34 |
| Story ID: | 198380 |
| Location: | CURTIS BAY, BALTIMORE, MD, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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