A local nonprofit group wants to work with a group of homeowners to develop rain gardens in Ballard. Stewardship Partners has built a number of rain gardens in the region, and is looking for six to eight homeowners along one street or in an area of Ballard who want to build rain gardens at their home.
Rain gardens in yards can help absorb rain water, allowing it to slowly soak into the ground rather than mixing with sewage and road runoff, eventually carrying pollutants into the Puget Sound. The group wants to maximize the impact of rain gardens by developing them in a cluster.
Video of the Stewardship Partners rain garden cluster in the Delridge neighborhood, from EarthFix
Ballard residents can qualify for the City of Seattle’s RainWise rain garden rebate program. “The City’s rebate will cover rain garden construction at $3.50/square foot, and the rebate can be passed directly to the rain garden contractor, so you won’t have any out-of-pocket costs,” says Cari Simson from Urban Systems Design, who is helping coordinate the program. Simson said the timeline is to find homeowners in June, complete the design paperwork over the summer, and construction in the fall. She will be making a presentation at the Sustainable Ballard “Green Home Incentives Overview” event on Tuesday, May 15 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sunset Hill Community Center.
Simson welcomes any questions about the project by phone (206-234-5102) or email (crsimson@gmail.com). The Ballard rain garden cluster boundaries are south of NW 85th Street, north of NW Market St., west of 15th Ave NW, and east of 32nd Ave NW.
