Sandy Springs’ Marsh Creek Rain Garden has won the 2018 ACEC Georgia Engineering Excellence State Award in the stormwater project category from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia.
The rain garden is an environmental park that uses plants to filter pollutants from stormwater, Sandy Springs officials said. The state considers all streams within city limits impaired because of high levels of fecal coliform bacteria.
A “bio-retention pond” provides natural aeration to additionally treat the water before releasing it to Marsh Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River. A passive park with a walking path, benches, fountain and boardwalk overlook, the garden also reduces flooding and stream bank erosion, officials said.
The rain garden was completed in December 2016 at a cost of slightly more than $2 million. It was funded in part by a nearly $400,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division also worked with the city.
“We had a water quality issue to address in the contributing watershed,” Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said. “With the assistance from our consulting partner, WK Dickson & Co. Inc., we were able to not only address the issue but create an amenity and learning environment our residents will benefit from ongoing.”
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