There is a new water-cleansing bioswale at the end of one of the prettiest lanes in Southampton, Linden Lane. The gorgeous Linden Lane bioswale is the result of a two-year long effort between Lake Agawam Conservancy, the Linden Lane community, Piazza Horticultural, and Southampton Village. This Lake-friendly garden filled with native plants and grasses will improve water quality not only in the Lake, but in all of our shared water bodies. The native plants that make up the bioswale have deep root systems – this enables them to absorb stormwater, reduce erosion, filter pollutants, and they require less irrigation than turf or ornamental grasses.
Linden Lane slopes downward from South Main Street to Lake Agawam, carrying contaminated road run-off from a busy thoroughfare directly into the Lake. This new bioswale will reduce the toxic landscape chemicals, gasoline and bacterial load going into the Lake as well as seeping into our water table. Additionally, it will mitigate flooding and provide a robust habitat for native birds and animals.
One of the native plants included in this bioswale is the romantic Cattail, which was once ubiquitous in Southampton until the invasive phragmites took over. Our hope is that by re-introducing the Cattail alongside these sturdy plants, it will once again prevail. Swamp mallow, the flowering hibiscus long admired in Southampton, is planted alongside Buttonbush, Northern Bayberry, Purple Lovegrass, Little Bluestem, Common Rush and Butterfly Milkweed to make a beautiful and diverse ecosystem that will revitalize Lake Agawam.
“Lake Agawam Conservancy hopes that the Linden Lane bioswale, the third bioswale that the Conservancy has helped create around the Lake in the past two years, will inspire our community to see how simple measures, like planting native buffers, will restore not only our Lake, but all the beautiful waters that surround us.”
“This is a great example of local governments and the community working together. I wanted to thank the Town Trustees, the Lake Agawam Conservancy and our Department of Public Works for their continued efforts to address stormwater runoff and other nutrients from entering into Lake Agawam.”
