You can believe it or not… but two small rain gardens saved Manchaug Pond from an oil spill on Friday, September 11th, 2015. The structures, along with a catch basin, pervious pavers and an underground filtration system was installed by the Manchaug Pond Foundation through a EPA/DEP s. 319 Non-Point Source Pollution grant some 4 years ago to capture road runoff, and stop erosion and pollutants from entering the lake at this Sutton site.
Approximately 29 gallons of “non-PCB mineral oil dielectric fluid” spilled to the roadway and roadside soils just before 3:00 AM, as a tree came down on the electric lines causing a utility pole to break and the transformer to fall to the pavement.
Trucks and crews from Clean Harbors spent 12 hours cleaning the two rain gardens, the catch basin and 95 feet of road leading to the rain garden. The environmental engineer/soil scientist from National Grid’s representative Tighe & Bond estimates the larger rain garden took 75% of the spill. No oil went past the catch basin to the lake with 4 yards of soil, rip rap rock, plant material, and the 20 bags of clay absorbent applied as well as the other absorbent material. 
7 soil samples were taken after the cleanup to ensure all was cleaned and safe. Further the area was restored with rock, loam, plant material and the roadside lightly seeded. DEP expressed great concern for Manchaug Pond when notified by National Grid that morning of the event but all was handle most thoroughly with no impact to the lake. A full report will be sent to the Manchaug Pond Foundation with the final clean-up test results.