The Sunset Hill Community Association's new rain garden and cisterns, courtesy of Seattle Public Utilities, show that it's possible to have both a lawn and green infrastructure.
As part of its RainWise program, Seattle Public Utilities installed two 200-gallon cisterns and a rain garden on the front lawn of the Sunset Hill Community Association.
"We thought it was important to do our part to keep storm water out of our sewer system," association president Robert Drucker said.
He said the association is diverting about half the runoff from its large roof into the cisterns and rain garden. The association is saving the water in the cisterns for landscape irrigation in the summer.
"In a couple of years, the rain garden won't need much maintenance at all," Drucker said.
Through the RainWise program, Seattle Public Utilities is hoping to reduce the amount of storm water that makes its way into the city's sewers, lessening the amount dumped into Puget Sound. Seattle Public Utilities is offering homeowners a rebate for building green infrastructure, such as rain gardens and cisterns, on their own property.
Landscape architect and Sunset Hill Community Association neighbor John Barker, who designed Ballard Corners Park, volunteered to design the rain garden and select the plants. Seattle Conservation Corps provided the labor to install the cisterns and rain garden.
Seattle Public Utilities will be hosting a tour of rain gardens on private land in Sunset Hill at 10 a.m. Nov. 6 starting at the Sunset Hill Community Association, which is located at 3003 N.W. 66th St.
For more information on Seattle Public Utilities' RainWise program, click here.
