Rain Gardens and Low Impact Development
Survey of LID rebate programs in Puget
Sound
Rain gardens clusters as an outreach
tool
Partnerships that move LID forward
Rain Garden Handbook for Western WA
LID Rebate Programs in Puget SoundSuccess – Number of programs is increasing
Jurisdiction Rebate
Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey, Thurston Cty
$400 rain garden; stormwater fee reduction
City of Tacoma (retooling program)
$2000 rain garden; stormwater fee reduction
Puyallup $7500 pervious pavers; $1000 rain garden
Kitsap County $1000 rain garden and menu of LID practices
Shoreline $1600 rain garden; conservation landscaping
Lake Forest Park $1000 residential RG; $2000 community RG
Bellingham $6000 rain garden Lake Whatcom area
Port Angeles $750 rain garden; $150 disconnect downspouts
Everett $2500 rain garden, North Everett areas
Kirkland Residential pilot with menu of LID practices
Seattle/King County RainWise $4500 rain garden and cisterns
RainWiseCity of Seattle and King
CountyCSO reduction and GSI
17 distinct neighborhoods and CSO
basins
About 55,000 eligible parcel owners
Rain gardens, cistern installations
Non profit outreach and education
partners
Contractor certification training
https://rainwise.seattle.gov/city/seattle/
overview
Residential RainWise Installation
265 gallon cisterns
Rain Garden
55,000 gallons/year530 gallons storage
Church RainWise Installation
530 gallon cisterns
1110 gallon cisterns
108,000 gallons/year4500 gallons of storage
RainWise Statistics
228 projects completed in
2014
591 projects completed
since 2010
17 acres of roof area>8 million gallons of stormwater treated annually
54 trained contractors in
place
South Park CSO Map
Rain Gardens in Clusters
Puyallup rain gardens
Inspires community
building
Uses resources efficiently
Measurable stormwater
impact
Models are installed to
scale
Leverages other programs
Creates partnerships
Success
8th Ave NW Puyallup
7 rain garden cluster in 2009; live radio show Gardening
with Ciscoe
Cover story in This Old House Magazine; King 5 News
coverage
13 rain gardens added 2010-2012; PSE energy campaign
Green Street completed in 2013; 11 roadside rain
gardens
8th Ave NW Green Street-- By The Numbers
Porous Asphalt Roadway
25’ wide, 630’ long
Permeable PaverSidewalk
5’ wide, 620’ long
Pervious Concrete Sidewalk
4’ wide, 620’ long
Eatonville – The Rain Garden Capital
10 rain garden cluster along Orchard Ave
37 rain gardens in multiple clusters 2009 - 2014
High per capita concentration: Rain Garden
Capital
Partnerships between several agencies and
Town
PBS documentary series “Long Live the Kings”
NY Times cover story on adapting to climate
change
LID centric comprehensive stormwater plan
Ciscoe Morris and Myrna Lopas
PBS – Long Live the Kings
NAPA Auto Parts store rain gardens
Filming rain garden construction and planting
Eatonville Stormwater Plan
Partnership between Town and Nisqually Tribe
Updated draft 2003 plan with EPA $$ to Tribes
LID focused and prioritized capital projects list
Outreach and education campaign;
partnership matrix
Increased stormwater rates and charges for
maintenance
Capital program entirely grant funded; grant
matrix
Prepared by AHBL
Stormwater Plan Campaign
Educates and inspires residents to change behavior
Creates opportunities for all Eatonville residents to
participate
Informs and attracts outside investors and partnerships
Completes the funding and implements the capital and
programmatic elements
Partnerships – Moving Green Infrastructure Forward
Demonstrate novel bio retention mix and delivery
system
18 month project complete in 2015
Contractors: Splash Boxx, LLC and Gealogica,
LLC
Grant Source: King Conservation District
Grant Manager: Sustainable Seattle
Site Host: Port of Seattle, Pier 91 Terminal
LID Process Documentation: NW EcoBuilding
Guild
Success
Moving Green Infrastructure Forward
Compares conventional soil mix and one with
volcanic sand
Portable bio retention planter box in industrial
setting
Monitor inflow and outflow for pollutant removal
Sensors collect data to compare water storage of
soils
Moving Green Infrastructure Forward
Shared between code officials, building industry
and public
Information about successfully permitted green
building
In depth case studies, videos and resources
Partnerships – Vision2Action NW EcoBuilding Guild
Discussion of new municipal stormwater permits requiring LID
Local panel of experts
Multiple partners and series
Supports Phase I & II jurisdiction outreach in permit development
Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permittees
Cities and towns: Aberdeen, Algona, Arlington, Auburn, Bainbridge Island, Battle Ground, Bellevue, Bellingham, Black Diamond, Bonney Lake, Bothell, Bremerton, Brier, Buckley, Burien, Burlington, Camas, Centralia, Clyde Hill, Covington, Des Moines, DuPont, Duvall, Edgewood, Edmonds, Enumclaw, Everett, Federal Way, Ferndale, Fife, Fircrest, Gig Harbor, Granite Falls, Issaquah, Kelso, Kenmore, Kent, Kirkland, Lacey, Lake Forest Park, Lake Stevens, Lakewood, Longview, Lynnwood, Maple Valley, Marysville, Medina, Mercer Island, Mill Creek, Milton, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Mount Vernon, Mukilteo, Newcastle, Normandy Park, Oak Harbor, Olympia, Orting, Pacific, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Puyallup, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Sedro-Woolley, Shoreline, Snohomish, Steilacoom, Sumner, Tukwila, Tumwater, University Place, Vancouver, Washougal, Woodinville, and Yarrow Point
Counties: Cowlitz, Kitsap, Thurston, Skagit, and Whatcom
Challenges
Training contractors: RainWise has 54 contractors and
needs 154
Creating capital LID investment strategies for small
jurisdictions
Coordinating LID rebate strategies among jurisdictions
Recognizing and creating opportunities for LID
partnerships
Support to Phase II jurisdictions in the run up to 2016
permits
Next Steps
Expand health regulations allowing rain water harvesting (RWH) and treatment to potable as incentive to manage stormwater
Continue to identify support needs of jurisdictions in municipal permit implementation
Continue to leverage successful LID partnership models
More discussions and idea sharing