Cities are moving toward widespread use of green stormwater methods by building visible demonstrations of how these methods work, like this rainwater catchment system used to irrigate the Rigler Elementary School's community garden in Portland.
credit:
Katie Campbell
Grants helped pay for this rain garden to be built in West Seattle. Property owners who choose to build rain gardens see it as a way to beautify their property, increase property values and reduce pollution through stormwater runoff.
credit:
Katie Campbell
The Portland Youth Hostel in the Hawthorne District has a variety of green stormwater features including an eco-roof and a rainwater harvesting system.
credit:
Katie Campbell
At the Washington Stormwater Center in Puyallup, they're conducting pervious pavement research, tracking the amount of water flowing through the systems—as well as looking at how well water is filtered.