Join West Seattle neighbors who are helping to control water pollution with RainWise rain gardens on Saturday, Dec. 12 from 10 to 11 am. There will be a celebration, ribbon-cutting and touring of RainWise rain gardens and cisterns:

Come celebrate with the six families on the blocks of Sullivan and Tillman Streets of West Seattle who are helping solve water pollution by sending the rain that falls on their roofs into RainWise rain gardens and cisterns.

Bring the whole family, rain or shine, and enjoy the festivities, refreshments and tour of the neighborhood. The ribbon-cutting celebration will take place on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 10 am at 3731 S.W. Tillman St. in West Seattle and be followed by a tour of seven rain garden and cistern installations.

“My neighbors gathered for an introduction to the RainWise program and it was no surprise that several were interested,” said Elliott Night, a Sullivan Street neighbor and leader who made this cluster of RainWise installations happen. “It’s a way to beautify our yards with rain gardens, save water with cisterns, and reduce pollution in one of Seattle’s most valuable assets–our waterways. With the rebate program it really is a win-win-win.”

These homes have collectively installed six new RainWise rain gardens and two cisterns. All together, these RainWise installations will collect the rain that falls on 5,840 square feet of roof area. This will keep nearly 80,000 gallons of stormwater out of the sewer system each year. Home Grown Organics, the RainWise contractor for the entire cluster, will lead a tour of nearby installations and offer advice on selecting plants and attracting pollinators.

RainWise is a joint program of Seattle Public Utilities and King County Wastewater Treatment Division.

Over 50,000 properties in Seattle are eligible for RainWise rebates. Program experts King County will be available at this event to answer questions about eligibility for rebates that may cover up to 100 percent of the cost to install a cistern or rain garden in certain parts of Seattle. (Take a virtual tour online at
http://www.kingcounty.gov/services/environment/wastewater/cso/rainwise/virtual-tour.aspx)

Besides being pretty, rain gardens help control stormwater, a significant source of pollution in Puget Sound and the Duwamish River.

By controlling stormwater, people can support city and county goals to control overflows of sewage and stormwater that occur in these waterways during heavy rains.

Additional information, including a complete list of workshops and events where people can learn more about RainWise, is available at www.rainwise.seattle.gov

For additional information on the Rain Wise program, please visit:
www.rainwise.seattle.gov

Or visit the Barton-Fauntleroy Facebook Page at
www.facebook.com/BartonFauntleroyRainWise