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Let the Rain Soak In

Let the Rain Soak In

What's the problem?

When houses, streets, shopping centers, and businesses are built, natural soil and plants are replaced by hard surfaces, such as roads, driveways and parking lots.

That's problematic because soil is a natural sponge. It soaks water into the ground and naturally filters out pollution. When rain falls on those hard surfaces, it cannot soak into the ground, so it instead runs over parking lots and driveways picking up toxic pollutants before entering our streams and rivers.

A one-acre area of pavement produces 27,150 gallons of runoff for every one inch of rain. In Pierce County, with about 37 inches of rain per year, that equals one million gallons of runoff.

This runoff can flood homes, and erode hillsides and stream banks. It also carries pollution like dirt, oil, metals, fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria, and toxic chemicals to our salmon-spawning streams and shellfish beaches.

Contact

Christina Rohila
Public Information Specialist [email protected]

What can you do?

If we can make a developed area work more like a native forest, we can slow the flow of runoff and prevent pollution. We can help our community work more like the forest by taking some simple steps around our homes and neighborhoods.

Plant Trees & Native Plants
Reduce Paved Areas
Build Healthy Soils
Reuse Rain Water
Create a Rain Garden
Helpful Links

Plant Trees & Native Plants

Native plants and trees work miracles. They soak up runoff, require less water, filter out pollutants, and help recharge groundwater. The needles of evergreen trees in Washington forests can hold as much as 40% of the rain from a light rainfall. Consider native plants in your landscape.

Reduce Paved Areas

A one-acre area of pavement produces 27,150 gallons of runoff for every one inch of rain. In Pierce County, with about 37 inches of rain per year, that equals one million gallons of runoff.

Consider removing paved areas around your home. Replace your concrete patio with a deck or pavers. Driveways can be constructed of pavers or narrower with two paved tire tracks.

On unpaved sites, water from rain or snow follows natural drainage patterns. Much of the water seeps down into the soil and into underground water supplies. In forests and grasslands, trees and other plants will take up some of this water. Water will also collect on their leaves and needles and evaporate.

Consider alternatives like permeable pavement which provides a hard, drivable surface, but it also lets some stormwater soak back into the ground.

To learn more about permeable pavements and see the research being done at Washington State University Puyallup, visit their webpage.

Build Healthy Soils

Improve your soil with compost and mulch to reduce your need for water, pesticides and fertilizers. Try slow-release fertilizer and natural lawn chemicals instead.

Soil is alive, and soil life matters. A teaspoonful of healthy soil contains about 4 billion organisms! This community of beneficial soil creatures keeps our landscapes healthy by:

Creating a loose soil structure that allows air, water, and plant root growth into the soil
Recycling nutrients and making them available to plants
Storing water until plants need it
Protecting plants from pests and diseases

Why not choose SoundGRO^®?

SoundGRO^® is the natural choice fertilizer product for your landscaped areas and vegetable gardens. SoundGRO^® is a slow-release fertilizer that contains nutrients and micronutrients that are vital for the healthy growth of your plants.

Reuse Rain Water

Attach rain barrels or a cistern to your house’s downspouts to collect rainwater. Reuse the rain to water your lawn, garden or livestock.

What is a rain barrel?

A rain barrel is a simple rainwater collector that is connected to the downspouts on your house. The average 2,000-square-foot roof generates about 30,000 gallons of runoff per year. You can capture that rainwater and re-use it. Instead of gutters sending water to the ground near your house or into the storm drainage system, the downspouts are connected to a large barrel that stores some of the runoff water from your roof for later use, such as watering your lawn, garden and potted plants.

Create a Rain Garden

Rain gardens are shallow areas often planted with native plants. They can store water during large rain events and filter out pollutants. Rain gardens are a great place to collect water from roof downspouts, paved areas or overflow from rain barrels.

Rain Garden Benefits

Can be planted with native plants or with attractive perennials to fit your landscaping
Filters pollutants out of runoff as water drains through roots and soil
Provides habitat for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects
Stores extra rainwater during large storms to minimize flooding

Helpful Links

For more information on how you can implement these methods on your property, explore these resources:

Pierce County - Natural Yard Care
Pierce County - SoundGro
Pierce Conservation District - Green Stormwater Resources (Rain Gardens, Rain Barrels, Depaving, Urban Trees, Grants)
Puget Sound Starts Here: Natural Yard Care
Tacoma-Pierce County Healthy Department (Natural Yard Care Resources)
WSU-Puyallup/Washington Stormwater Center - Rural Stormwater Solutions
How To: Let the Rain Soak In
How To: Rain Gardens
How To: Rain Barrels

Let the Rain Soak In

What's the problem?

Contact

What can you do?

Native plants and trees work miracles. They soak up runoff, require less water, filter out pollutants, and help recharge groundwater. The needles of evergreen trees in Washington forests can hold as much as 40% of the rain from a light rainfall. Consider native plants in your landscape.

A one-acre area of pavement produces 27,150 gallons of runoff for every one inch of rain. In Pierce County, with about 37 inches of rain per year, that equals one million gallons of runoff.

Consider removing paved areas around your home. Replace your concrete patio with a deck or pavers. Driveways can be constructed of pavers or narrower with two paved tire tracks.

Consider alternatives like permeable pavement which provides a hard, drivable surface, but it also lets some stormwater soak back into the ground.

To learn more about permeable pavements and see the research being done at Washington State University Puyallup, visit their webpage.

Improve your soil with compost and mulch to reduce your need for water, pesticides and fertilizers. Try slow-release fertilizer and natural lawn chemicals instead.

Soil is alive, and soil life matters. A teaspoonful of healthy soil contains about 4 billion organisms! This community of beneficial soil creatures keeps our landscapes healthy by:

Creating a loose soil structure that allows air, water, and plant root growth into the soil

Recycling nutrients and making them available to plants

Storing water until plants need it

Protecting plants from pests and diseases

Why not choose SoundGRO^®?

SoundGRO^® is the natural choice fertilizer product for your landscaped areas and vegetable gardens. SoundGRO^® is a slow-release fertilizer that contains nutrients and micronutrients that are vital for the healthy growth of your plants.

Attach rain barrels or a cistern to your house’s downspouts to collect rainwater. Reuse the rain to water your lawn, garden or livestock.

What is a rain barrel?

Rain gardens are shallow areas often planted with native plants. They can store water during large rain events and filter out pollutants. Rain gardens are a great place to collect water from roof downspouts, paved areas or overflow from rain barrels.

Rain Garden Benefits

For more information on how you can implement these methods on your property, explore these resources:

How can we help?

Contact Us

Informational Links

Helpful Links

Let the Rain Soak In

What's the problem?

Contact

What can you do?

Native plants and trees work miracles. They soak up runoff, require less water, filter out pollutants, and help recharge groundwater. The needles of evergreen trees in Washington forests can hold as much as 40% of the rain from a light rainfall. Consider native plants in your landscape.

A one-acre area of pavement produces 27,150 gallons of runoff for every one inch of rain. In Pierce County, with about 37 inches of rain per year, that equals one million gallons of runoff.

Consider removing paved areas around your home. Replace your concrete patio with a deck or pavers. Driveways can be constructed of pavers or narrower with two paved tire tracks.

Consider alternatives like permeable pavement which provides a hard, drivable surface, but it also lets some stormwater soak back into the ground.

To learn more about permeable pavements and see the research being done at Washington State University Puyallup, visit their webpage.

Improve your soil with compost and mulch to reduce your need for water, pesticides and fertilizers. Try slow-release fertilizer and natural lawn chemicals instead.

Soil is alive, and soil life matters. A teaspoonful of healthy soil contains about 4 billion organisms! This community of beneficial soil creatures keeps our landscapes healthy by:

Creating a loose soil structure that allows air, water, and plant root growth into the soil

Recycling nutrients and making them available to plants

Storing water until plants need it

Protecting plants from pests and diseases

Why not choose SoundGRO®?

SoundGRO® is the natural choice fertilizer product for your landscaped areas and vegetable gardens. SoundGRO® is a slow-release fertilizer that contains nutrients and micronutrients that are vital for the healthy growth of your plants.

Attach rain barrels or a cistern to your house’s downspouts to collect rainwater. Reuse the rain to water your lawn, garden or livestock.

What is a rain barrel?

Rain gardens are shallow areas often planted with native plants. They can store water during large rain events and filter out pollutants. Rain gardens are a great place to collect water from roof downspouts, paved areas or overflow from rain barrels.

Rain Garden Benefits

For more information on how you can implement these methods on your property, explore these resources:

Why not choose SoundGRO^®?

SoundGRO^® is the natural choice fertilizer product for your landscaped areas and vegetable gardens. SoundGRO^® is a slow-release fertilizer that contains nutrients and micronutrients that are vital for the healthy growth of your plants.