New Jersey Demonstration Rain Gardens ~
Waterfront South Rain Garden Park

Waterfront South Rain Garden Park
South Broadway Avenue & Chelton Avenue, Camden, Camden County, New Jersey 08104

Google (TM) Map	Site Contact(s)	History	Runoff Managed
Installation	Plant Layout	Maintenance	Photographs

 

Google (TM) Map:


View New Jersey Demonstration Rain Gardens in a larger map

Site Contact(s):

Mike Haberland, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Camden and Burlington Counties
    

History:

The Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program partnered with Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, The Heart of Camden, The Center for Environmental Transformation, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to develop a community-based open space plan for a former fueling station located at the corner of Broadway and Chelton Avenue in the Waterfront South neighborhood. The Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, with support from NJDEP, led an effort to remediate this corner property and, with assistance from the RCE Water Resources Program, developed a plan to create a green amenity for the community. The extensive site remediation consisted of the removal of twelve underground storage tanks as well as the removal of 1,850 tons of contaminated soil from the site. The final plan integrated four rain gardens on the site to reduce stormwater flow to the combined sewer system and flooding in nearby intersections and properties.

Site remediation work was completed in the spring of 2011, and the park amenities along with four rain gardens were completed in July 2011. The rain gardens capture runoff from adjacent roadways through a series of constructed curb cuts and swales.  The project serves as a model for the City of Camden as well as other urban areas on how cost-effective green infrastructure solutions can be integrated into parks, open spaces, and redevelopment projects. The rain gardens will capture, treat, and infiltrate approximately 470,000 gallons of stormwater each year.

Type of Runoff Managed:

These rain gardens capture runoff from South Broadway Avenue and Chelton Avenue through a series of constructed curb cuts and swales.

Installation:

The installation of the rain gardens was completed in July 2011 by Luzon, Inc., which included placement of soil amendments over historic fill and the construction of a series of curb cuts, swales, and underdrain pipes to capture roadway runoff and route stormwater to all four rain garden areas. The native plants that were installed in the rain gardens were purchased from Popes' Garden.

Plant Layout:

Rain Garden Map

Plant List:

Butterfly Habitat Rain Garden Plants

Beebalm
Black‐eyed Susan
Blue Lobelia
False Sunflower
Ironweed
Joe‐pye Weed
New England Aster
Purple Coneflower
Swamp Milkweed
Sweet Pepperbush

Native Grass Rain Garden Plants

Blue Lobelia
Indiangrass
Panic Grass
Seaside Goldenrod
Switchgrass

Shrub Rain Garden Plants

Black‐eyed Susan
Inkberry Holly
Purple Coneflower
Red‐twig Dogwood
Sweet Pepperbush
Witchhazel

Wet Meadow Rain Garden Plants

Beebalm
Black‐eyed Susan
Blue Lobelia
Ironweed
Panic Grass
Purple Coneflower
Swamp Milkweed
Sweet Pepperbush
Turtlehead

Click here to download Adobe Reader to view the rain garden map and the plant list fact sheets.
 

Maintenance:
   
These rain gardens are maintained by the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority.

Photographs & Videos:

Click here for photographs of the Waterfront South Rain Garden Park rain gardens.

Click here for a documentary video about these rain gardens. This video was prepared by students at Urban Promise Academy in Camden, New Jersey.