Media Contact: Alan Heymann (202) 741-2136
Washington, DC – The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) has received an $800,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to reduce stormwater runoff in the Rock Creek watershed. The District’s low-impact development proposal was one of 24 selected this year for funding to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
“This grant gives us the opportunity to deal with stormwater differently and on a larger scale than ever before,” said DDOE Director George S. Hawkins. “If we help nature absorb and filter stormwater, there may be less of it to contain, and less of it to carry pollutants into our rivers and streams.”
The DDOE pilot project will cover approximately 14 acres surrounding Rock Creek. The department will install green roofs, vegetation and porous pavement to absorb stormwater at the source, to determine whether this type of work can reduce runoff and the resulting pollution to District waterways.
DDOE and 11 recipients from Virginia received the funding in a ceremony Monday in Richmond with Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. The grants cover six states and the District, for a total of $12.9 million.