Sag Harbor residents unveil rain garden to reduce runoff in Nineveh Beach

A new rain garden at the end of Harding Terrace in Sag Harbor opened on July 22 with residents saying the project will help capture runoff and filter pollutants before water reaches the bay.

"For James Boyd, an officer with the Nineveh Beach Property Owners Association, this project was a personal" effort, reporter Christine Sampson said. James Boyd described his change in perspective from working in the chemical industry to supporting natural filtration: "I was actually a chemical guy... But it didn't because it would pollute." Boyd also cited local monitoring numbers, saying, "2026, we had 1.4 inches of rain... 2,613 [bacteria count]; in '25, we had 0.25 inch of rain, and we have 4,600, bacteria count."

Kim Smith, a landscape designer with Jackson Dodds who worked on the installation, told LTV that crews had to excavate multiple layers of asphalt and that the garden "will hold, fingers crossed, almost 1,300 gallons of water," which she said will help capture runoff in heavy storms.

Reporters noted that Nineveh Beach is one of Sag Harbor's three historically African American neighborhoods and that residents will be responsible for maintaining the garden. The project was funded by a grant from the Peconic Estuary Partnership.

The rain garden uses native plants and layered soil and stone to collect and naturally filter pollutants before the water drains into the bay. Organizers and the landscape firm said the plants are not yet fully mature but are already reducing pooled water and, organizers say, lowering bacteria counts. Christine Sampson closed the report saying the neighborhood will manage upkeep.

LTV reached out to project funders for further technical monitoring data but the broadcast report only quoted the association's preliminary counts and local installer estimates.