The District Dept. of Environment here in Washington DC the past few years has been under some pressure to curb its stormwater runoff issues as we have a combined storm and waste water system which makes for managing water a bit challenging, especially in severe rainfalls as we have seen the past few weeks.

So what’s the solution you might be wondering?  Well I did some searching around about a year ago and found out that there is this great grant program here in DC called the River Smart Homes which affords any District resident with a yard the chance to apply for up to a $1,200 grant ( at least that was last year ).

The process took almost 9 months to complete, I started with my own yard back in October and I was given a great rain barrel to start off with ( I think I paid $40 for it ) – they cost substantially more than that, so I was fine with everything including installation running me the $40.

DDOE Rain Barrel

Now the rain barrel has been great because I have two parts to my front yard, the one that looks as though the home has gone vacant

The Wild Side of Things

( that’s where all my fruit trees and wild herbs hang out ) and the other half which was enrolled in the program and looks well kept and orderly.

Now I had the chance to select out all the plant species I wanted – Echinacea, bee balm (for my honey bees ), Lavender, a type of butterfly bush and a dozen blueberry bushes.  However you could request almost anything depending upon soil type and amount of sun you receive.

Rain garden

The program is administered by

Jenny Guillaume is the RiverSmart coordinator at DDOE. Her number is 202-535-2252

There are 3 components to the program depending upon which you are looking for.

Casey Trees is responsible for installing select shade trees.

DC Greenworks is responsible for installing the rain barrels.

Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is responsible for the rain garden installation program.
5282 Jessup Lane
Woodbridge, VA 22193
(703) 878-1447
jalberti@acb-online.org

The Alliance subs out the actual installation portion to one of the 3 contractors, I dealt with John Schorb Landscaping, a local landscaping contractor here in DC that did an amazing job this past July when it was all completed.

The rain barrel has been a lifesaver during this unusually dry Spring we had as I hooked up a soaker hose weaving it between all my plants out there keeping them happy.

Any questions about the process or how to make this happen, do feel free to contact me.

Michael Kiefer
Michael@greenDCrealty.com