North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce Rain Garden

LID Type: Bioretention

Use: Civic

Installer: Boy Scout Troop 1 Kingston

Designer/Developer: Ryan McNaughton (Troop 1 Kingston) and David Renzi (Out in Front Horticulture)

Install Date: July 9, 2011



Address: 8045 Post Road

Town: North Kingstown

Zip Code: 02852

County: Washington

Contact:

Ryan McNaughton

Troop 1 Kingston

401.578.0575

hendrickenhawk2012@msn.com

The North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce rain garden was installed by Boy Scout Troop 1 Kingston under the leadership of scout Ryan McNaughton, as part of his Eagle Scout project. David Renzi of Out in Front Horticulture in Exeter, Rhode Island assisted McNaughton with the planning, design, and construction of the garden. The Chamber provided funds to purchase some of the plant materials and will maintain the rain garden. Others donating plants and materials included BayScape Nursery, Blue Moon Farm, Morningstar Nurseries, Hopedale Trucking, and the RI Natural History Survey. McNaughton also received guidance and support from the URI Cooperative Extension and the Town of North Kingstown.

The site was chosen in order to reduce the amount of runoff entering a storm drain adjacent to the Chamber, which ultimately flowed without treatment into Wickford Harbor and Narragansett Bay. Prior to installation of the garden, rainwater from storms would run off the roof of the Chamber and over its dirt driveway, picking up sediment, oil, and other pollutants that would be deposited directly into the storm drain. The rain garden is designed to receive runoff from a portion of the roof, which is collected and directed via two gutters into the garden where the water gradually percolates through the soil and recharges the groundwater below.

The garden itself consists of two shallow “bowls” so that if one fills, water will spill over into a slightly lower one. Renzi stated that the entire garden is slightly oversized, to account for soil conditions that were not quite ideal. He also noted that due to the Chamber resting on a concrete slab, the garden could be installed adjacent to the building. Typically, rain gardens are situated at least 10 feet from buildings so that the filtering water does not leak into basements or undermine foundations.

Address: 8045 Post Road, North Kingstown, RI 02852