The District Department of Environment (DDOE) is soliciting applications from DC homeowners for FREE stormwater friendly landscaping enhancements to be installed in their yards. DDOE is looking to fund projects that will demonstrate ways to reduce river and stream pollution. Selection criteria will include visibility of the home, accessibility to public transportation, willingness of the homeowner to allow tours, willingness of the homeowner to continue maintenance of the landscaping installations and adaptability of the property to the landscaping.
One home in each ward will be selected to install a large shade tree, a rain garden, "Bayscaping," pervious surfaces and a rain barrel. If the selected homeowner has an impervious surface such as driveway or patio, it may be replaced with a pervious surface such as paving stone, porous pavement or other hard surface that permits water penetration into the soil. The rain barrel will capture and store rainwater from the rooftop to be reused in the yard. Bayscaping will provide aesthetic native plants that require little to no watering, fertilizing or pesticide use.
The eight homes selected will serve as demonstration sites for DDOE's new pollution reduction campaign scheduled to debut in 2008. The program will offer incentives for homeowners to adopt the stormwater reducing techniques on their property that are mentioned above. The campaign goal is to reduce stormwater runoff and increase stormwater quality, which will improve our rivers and the District's environment as a whole.
The deadline for submitting applications is August 10, 2007.
For more information, please contact Lorin O'Toole at (202) 727-5160 or [email protected].