Information about Stormwater Issues and Green Stormwater Infrastructure:
The Nature Conservancy’s City Habitats Initiative has lots of information about green stormwater infrastructure, including this great infographic. Additionally, Nature Works Everywhere offers several stormwater and rain garden lesson plans and resources.
Nature’s Scorecard is a site developed by Puget Soundkeeper and Washington Environmental Council to evaluate how cities and counties in Puget Sound are implementing statewide requirements for stormwater management. It is intended as a tool to help our region measure success and find areas where improvement is needed.
The Puget Sound Institute has compiled an Encyclopedia of Puget Sound, gathering data on all things related to the Puget Sounds region. This article is an overview of information related to stormwater, stormwater pollution, and its impacts on Puget Sound.
Test your knowledge of the ways different surfaces interact with stormwater using IslandWood’s “Pervious or Impervious?” trivia game.
Additional Resources:
- WaterMaps – This online GIS mapping tool was created by King County and is what IslandWood used to create most of the school-specific pipe maps. If is designed for teacher and student use, but we are still refining some of the usability features. If you have access to a couple students that would benefit from a more open ended challenge, you could provide it to them to explore.
- Combined Sewer Overflows Status (live) – Teaching about stormwater during a big rainstorm? This King County website shows you which CSOs in Seattle are currently overflowing or have overflowed in the last 48 hours!
Seattle’s Stormwater History:
- Seattle’s Hidden Hydrology – This website explores the “lost rivers, buried creeks, and disappearing streams” of Seattle. Still in development, this website highlights some of the histories of Seattle’s changing waterways. Be sure to check out their blog too for more information.
- Waterlines– Seattle’s landscape has dramatically changed since the city’s foundation. The University of Washington’s Burke Museum explores Seattle’s history through its changing shorelines and “the natural and human forces that have shaped them”. The Waterlines map provides a look into what this area looked like and how it was used prior to non-native settlement.
Want to improve stormwater runoff in your neighborhood? Here are a few resources for how you can install Green Stormwater Infrastructure in your own back yard:
- RainWise – RainWise is a rebate program offered by Seattle Public Utilities and King County to help eligible property owners manage stormwater by installing rain gardens and cisterns. Check out local projects in your neighborhood and see if you’re eligible to apply for a RainWise grant.
- 700 million Gallons – The city of Seattle aims to manage over 700 million gallons of stormwater runoff using Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) by 2025. This website is a great resource for finding out about GSI in your neighborhood and how you or your community can participate.
- Water Smart Toolkit – Learn how to create stormwater solutions in your own back yard or school grounds with the Tilth Alliance’s Water Smart Toolkit. This guide provides all the information and resources needed to choose, install, and maintain a Water Smart solution.
Community Waters Science Unit 