By Frankie Lazauskas, TTF’s Upstream Conservation Leader
Throughout our watershed, we have installed many green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects such as the rain gardens and riparian buffers (creekside plantings). We plant these gardens in order to soak up polluted rain water before it enters the creek. Thus, these gardens and buffers are a vital part of our work to restore the Jenkintown Creek.
The realm of GSI is still relatively new, which is why it is important that we look back at the performance of the projects we’ve installed in order to make improvements in the future.
A great example of this can be seen at the Abington Friends School and Monthly Meeting where we’ve planted a riparian buffer along the creek, as well as planting a rain garden and bioswales. Villanova University uses a number of instruments in order to evaluate how the GSI features are performing. Their research allows us to understand how well the GSI features are a.) removing pollutants such as nitrates and nitrites and b.) slowing down and holding back the polluted rain water. You can read the results of their latest findings in this report and presentation given by graduate student Sergio Carvajal Sanchez of Villanova University.
