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Rain garden tour teaches how to reduce impact of stormwater

By Kie Relyea

The Bellingham Herald
Two of seven rain garden demonstration projects installed on 8th Avenue NW in Puyallup. Residents say that the gardens helped significantly reduce the amount of standing water in the neighborhood as the first rains of the season came this month.
Two of seven rain garden demonstration projects installed on 8th Avenue NW in Puyallup. Residents say that the gardens helped significantly reduce the amount of standing water in the neighborhood as the first rains of the season came this month. City of Puyallup
BELLINGHAM

Learn how to curb stormwater pollution during a tour of rain gardens in Bellingham on Saturday, Oct. 10.

The free event runs 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It begins in front of Bellingham Public Market, 1530 Cornwall Ave.

Stormwater is rain and melted snow that runs off hard surfaces — rooftops, paved streets, highways and parking lots — and into local waterways instead of soaking into the ground.

It carries pollutants like oil, fertilizers and pet waste into the water, which is why stormwater is the leading contributor of pollution in urban waterways in the state.

Rain gardens help absorb stormwater and reduce its impacts, according to a news release from RE Sources for Sustainable Communities.

No registration is needed for the tour. Go to www.re-sources.org for more information.

The tour ends at Bellingham Technical College. No transportation is provided. Carpooling or bicycling is encouraged.

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Rain garden tour teaches how to reduce impact of stormwater."

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