St. Margaret Mary Church and School
The Saint Margaret Mary Church and School in Rogers Park, on Chicago’s north side was selected as a Green Infrastructure demonstration project site after the City scanned its 311 calling system for complaints about flooding of streets and private property. One of the neighborhoods that had made the most complaints was that around the church.
On October 18th, 2007, students from St. Margaret Mary School joined the City’s Green Corps, a City-sponsored community landscaping and job training program, in planting over 500 native grasses and wildflowers in an 18 by 51-foot bioswale. The bioswale was cut out of the center of the parking lot and is designed to receive runoff from the asphalt and soak it into the garden, thus relieving the burden on the sewer system for all but the most severe storm events. The 12 by 10-foot raingardens each absorb water from a roof downspout on the rectory building. Two 15 by 15-foot porous pavement inserts will help drain a separate parking lot to help reduce flooding in the church recreation center.
The Green Infrastructure research and demonstration project is a partnership with the City of Chicago to gather engineering data on the performance of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) that use the power of plants and surrounding soil to absorb and clean rainfall runoff. CNT is monitoring these features to demonstrate how much water green infrastructure can handle, and how such features can fit into attractive neighborhoods while solving local drainage problems. CNT will publish information and resources that result from the project to stimulate increased implementation of green infrastructure.
Read more about it in the Case Study.
Download the Project Fact Sheet (.pdf).
View the Photo Gallery.
