John S. Harris Park
Featured Property
"Our connection to the Mississippi is front of mind for La Crescent. The river is an important part of our identity and we value protecting water quality for recreation"
- Jason Ludwigson, Sustainability Coordinator for La Crescent
How it Started
The City of La Crescent is committed to expanding green infrastructure, especially when it comes to stormwater management. When considering sites to construct rain gardens and rocky inlets to help filter stormwater into the ground and reduce runoff, John S. Harris Park came up as an ideal area to include these best management practices (BMPs). Much of the stormwater from the north end of La Crescent drains through this park, which acts as a giant basin and area for recreation.
After identifying the need for green stormwater BMPs at John S. Harris, the city public works staff got to work on the rain garden. They worked with Coulee Region Ecoscapes to source flagstone for a walking path and Driftless Area Natives to plan and purchase the perfect plants to soak up stormwater! And with the addition of high quality, engineered soil and some mulch, community volunteers were ready to help install the new feature. With their help, the rain garden was ready to prevent polluted stormwater runoff from entering our local waterways.
How it's Going
To make sure the plants in the rain garden grew big and strong, the Public Works staff had to water the garden regularly for the first year. This helps the plants establish their root systems and prepare to overwinter. After that first year though, the maintenance has been minimal. Usually, the plants in rain gardens just need some spring pruning and routine weeding until they get big enough to outcompete nuisance plants. In terms of filtering the stormwater into the ground, the sedge (type of grass) has been an effective and efficient addition.
There has been a great response from the community, with many individuals reaching out about how to do this on their own property! In response, the City of La Crescent has hosted multiple education events on how to get started with a rain garden. You can learn more about that yourself here.
In the future, the City of La Crescent would consider making the rain garden larger so it could soak up, filter, and prevent more polluted stormwater runoff!
