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RiverSmart Washington is a partnership led by the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), including the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), DC Water, LimnoTech, Casey Trees, and Rock Creek Conservancy.
The program is designed to measure whether installing attractive, low-cost, eco-friendly landscaping and innovative streetscaping in two experimental neighborhoods can reduce polluted runoff into Rock Creek. If successful, the program may be replicated across the District.
What’s the big idea?
RiverSmart Washington is designed to evaluate how well eco-friendly techniques help to reduce runoff on a neighborhood scale.
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| This before-after illustration of the Green Build Out Model shows extensive "green" retrofitting of rooftops and streets. |
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In 2007, Casey Trees and LimnoTech, with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), developed a model to predict the effectiveness of techniques, such as rain gardens, downspout disconnection, rain barrels, permeable pavement, and other techniques, in capturing the District's runoff. The "Green Build Out Model" predicts that if these techniques are widely implemented, some ares in the District could see runoff reductions of greater than fifty percent.
DDOE is now evaluating this model in two distinct, well-defined sewersheds. RiverSmart Washington will blanket these two neighborhoods with multiple small-scale runoff management techniques, and then measure their effectiveness in curbing the flow of runoff into Rock Creek. If successful, these techniques may be expanded throughout the District to benefit all streams and rivers.
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| Flow meters were installed in sewer pipes. |
LimnoTech collected six months of data. |
What’s involved?
 DDOE chose two experimental sewersheds: one in Petworth near the MacFarland Middle School and one in Chevy Chase DC near Lafayette Elementary School. The MacFarland neighborhood has a combined sewer system. The Lafayette neighorhood has a separated system. The storm drains in both neighborhoods flow into Rock Creek. A third demonstration is taking place in a non-residential section along Pennsylvania Avenue NW near Rock Creek. A small neighborhood in Petworth is designated as the control site. (Click to View Larger Google Map)
DDOE and Rock Creek Conservancy are working with homeowners and business owners to encourage their participation in the program. DDOE has visited private properties to determine which, if any, eco-friendly landscaping measures make sense for that property. Eligible properties may have up to $5,000 in landscaping improvements installed by qualified contractors under the supervision of Rock Creek Conservancy.
On public property, the District Department of Transportation will install streetscaping improvements along roadways, sidewalks and alleys. These measures may include curbside bioretention (vegetated planters with curb cuts on both sides of the curb line, in sidewalk tree boxes and in the street side parking lane), permeable pavement, and rain gardens in pocket parks.
DDOE is coordinating efforts with DC Public Schools and the Department of Parks & Recreation to consider installation of green roofs, cisterns, bioretention, trees, and pervious paving at schools and city parks within both experimental areas.
How is success measured?
For six months – from June through December 2010 – scientific gauges collected data on rainfall and the volume of water flowing through the storm sewer pipe in each sewershed to meaure how much runoff was captured before project installation.
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| Lafayette rain graph |
MacFarland rain graph |
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After installation of the landscaping and streetscaping, data will be collected from the same points to show how much of the rainfall is captured by the eco-friendly landscaping and streetscaping. Read LimnoTech's pre-implementation report (4 MB) and appendices (9MB).
Partners & Funding
RiverSmart Washington is supported by a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and with funding provided by DDOT and DC Water. The program partners include government agencies, non-profit organizations, and a private business.
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