A Community Rain Garden is under development at the Crystal Lake Grant Street Municipal Parking Lot, Downtown Crystal Lake. It is nearing completion and will be capped of with a planting event on Monday, May 9, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Crystal Lake Municipal Complex, 100 W. Woodstock Street.
Volunteers will be assisting City Staff in planting wildflowers for this demonstration project to promote sustainable infrastructure, which follows the first municipal bioswale installed at the Grant Street Parking lot last year.
The rain garden is comprised of a shallow depression, filled with native wildflowers, designed to allow water from the rooftop of the City's Municipal Complex to soak into the ground, as opposed to flowing directly into the storm sewer system and out into Crystal Creek.
The deep root systems of native wildflowers help promote the infiltration of rain into the ground, which benefits our local aquifers that supply the drinking water for most of the County.
It is the City's hope that this rain garden will help demonstrate another environmentally friendly way for homeowners and developers to help preserve natural resources like groundwater. This is also an example of the Best Management Practices being promoted by the City to help protect the Crystal Lake Watershed and the quality of water reaching the lake.
The garden is the result of extensive coordination from volunteers including:
- The Wildflower Preservation and Propagation Committee
- Hey and Associates
- Hughes &U Son Signs
- The Clean Air Counts Committee
- Girl Scout Troop #1054
- Crystal Lake Engineering & Building Department
- Crystal Lake Public Works Department
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