A Rain Garden will be constructed this spring on Clinton Street as Chelsea’s first such installation, designed to filter water and debris flowing into Mill Creek.
According to City Manager Jay Ash, the initiative is funded through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and managed by the Charles River Watershed Council.
The total project cost and grant amount equal $133,220.
Ash remarked that “fblikebutton_button” “It’s expensive and we’ll be interested in seeing the results,” and added, “fblikebutton_button” “I’m not sure because of the expense that we’ll be able to do lots of them. The EPA has helped us to get this one done.”
Rain Gardens function as ground-level depressions planted with native plants and flowers that reduce pollution and stormwater runoff entering nearby waterways like Mill Creek. The plants and soil work together to absorb water before it reaches the body of water, with studies indicating that approximately 30 percent of polluted runoff can be prevented from entering nearby water sources through this natural filtration method.