Rochester Hills To Install Rain Gardens With New Grant

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Rochester Hills will be installing rain gardens along Auburn Road between Culbertson and Hessel Avenue, thanks to a new grant. The city has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), it announced this week.

Rain gardens are a collection of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers that absorbs storm water runoff and promote vertical infiltration into the existing underlying sandy soil.

“We are thankful to the SEMCOG for supporting our investment in green infrastructure," said City Engineer Paul Davis. "These rain gardens will remove pollutants and sediments to provide greater benefits to downstream storm water outlets.”

Green infrastructure funds help communities reduce storm water and nutrient runoff to Lake Erie. The goal is to provide funding to shovel-ready green infrastructure projects that have an environmental benefit, including stormwater runoff and nutrient loading reduction.

“Green infrastructure is increasingly being recognized for its contribution to environmental quality, as well as to placemaking, economic values, and healthy communities – things that are vitally important to individual communities and to Southeast Michigan,” said SEMCOG Executive Director Kathleen Lomako.

Rochester Hills was one of just six Southeast Michigan communities that was selected for this funding. Funding for this grant is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

“We are proud of our commitment to environmental sustainability through innovative measures," said Mayor Bryan K. Barnett. “Projects like this help our community maintain the position as one of the nation’s leading places to live, work and raise a family.”