Match This!
Help find where the animals and things should go.
Match the item on the left to its destination point.
Dirty car
Swim to local streams
from Puget Sound
Pet waste
They go to the Super Bowl
Leaky vehicle
Swim in the Puget Sound
Storm drains
Take this to a
commercial car wash
Toilet water
Stormwater runoff leads to
streams, rivers, lakes and
Puget Sound
Seahawks
Put in the garbage
Orcas
Take this to a mechanic
Spawning salmon
Flows to a wastewater
treatment plant
Catching rain:
How low-impact development can help
Low-impact development uses natural and engineered technology to help urban areas manage water so they function more like a
forest. Allowing rain to soak into the ground instead of running off to a storm drain is a great way to protect water quality and the
environment. The water can slow down, cool off and have many pollutants filtered out before reaching our streams, lakes and
Puget Sound.
Some techniques used to catch rainwater can be as simple as planting a tree, directing roof downspouts away from impervious
surfaces, or using compost and mulch to build healthy soil. Other options may require more planning and construction, such as a rain
garden or green roof.
A rain garden is a sunken, bowl-shaped garden designed to slow, filter and absorb stormwater runoff from roofs or pavement, keeping
it from becoming harmful water pollution. Rain gardens are carefully designed to achieve this goal by using spongy living soils and
properly chosen plants. In this way, rain gardens function as small sections of forests or wetlands by absorbing stormwater runoff from
hard surfaces. When planted with the right type of plants, rain gardens also attract birds, butterflies and bees.
Rain gardens keep our watersheds healthy by:
• reducing flooding and overflow into storm drains by absorbing stormwater runoff from hard surfaces on-site
• filtering oil, grease and toxic materials before they can pollute streams, lakes and Puget Sound
• recharging groundwater aquifers by allowing water to soak into the ground
• providing beneficial wildlife habitat for insects and birds
RESOURCES:
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• daily.sightline.org/2015/01/22/rain-gardens-could-make-runoff-safe-for-salmon
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Sponsored Newspapers In Education Content
| THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 1, 2015
7
