District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold shared an update on the Longfellow Natural Drainage Systems Project and asks the public to take part in a survey.

"If you live near the Longfellow Creek, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) wants to hear from you. When it rains, it has a big impact on our water quality; our yards include pollutants such as pet waste, fertilizers and pesticides, and our streets have oil and heavy metals from vehicles. When it rains, these pollutants run off into the local waterways. You can see SPU’s long-term plan to protect the waterways here.

With this project, SPU is hoping to improve water quality in Longfellow Creek, as well as manage stormwater drainage, slow traffic, and beautify streets. SPU is asking for the community to take a survey before May 26th for your input to be considered. Click here to take the survey."

Polluted runoff is the greatest water quality threat to Puget Sound. It is estimated that more than 12 million pounds of pollution is carried into our waterways by stormwater every year.

One strategy SPU is using to solve this problem is to build Natural Drainage Systems. These engineered systems are connected cells of spongy dirt and plants that slow and clean water from the roadway and are built on the public right-of-way.

The Natural Drainage Systems Program is coming to your neighborhood.