The Lower Valley's perennial problem with storm water overflow will be targeted with a $50,000 grant awarded to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
The money will be used to create the Three Rivers Rain Garden Alliance to help create water-absorbing rain gardens throughout Allegheny County.
The project aims to dry up the storm water issues plaguing the area, according to Rachel Mohr Handel, of Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel.
"Properly planted rain gardens can absorb thousands of gallons of storm runoff, preventing it from overwhelming municipal systems that might otherwise release untreated waste into area waterways," she said.
The approach mimics nature's own systems of slowing down water flow enough for it to be absorbed instead of flowing to neighboring land.
Headquartered at Beechwood Farms, the Audubon Society will be joined by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, 3 Rivers Wet Weather and more than a dozen other local groups.
Storm water overflow can overtax municipal sewers and treatment systems, and send bacteria-laden sewage into roadways, homes, streams and into the Allegheny River.
Specifically, it can create a dangerous and unsanitary situation at every level of the environment -- from people to plants, animals, and fish, Handel said.
"The addition of rain gardens to our community will help to reduce the number of gallons of water that goes into sewers, lessening the chances that overflows or back-ups could result in flooded basements or contaminated waterways," she said.
John Schombert, executive director of 3 Rivers Wet Weather, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of Southwestern Pennsylvania's water resources, said, "In a region where the average rainfall is one-quarter inch, yet sewage overflows can be triggered by as little as one-tenth of an inch, rain gardens can be a viable solution for reducing storm water in our sewer system."
The gardens will beautify areas that many gardeners see as problem areas -- close to downspouts, she said.
The grant, with anticipated matching funds, is expected to pay for 150 model gardens.
Three Rivers Rain Garden Alliance plans to launch a Web site next year that allows garden owners to register their garden and track the volume of water that is ultimately prevented from going into sewers.
The grant is one of 41 doled out by TogetherGreen, an Audubon program funded by Toyota that aims to provide inspiration and leadership ideas for people to take action at home and in their communities to improve the health of the environment
The Pittsburgh grant is part of the first $1.4 million awarded by TogetherGreen.
"The problem is a cumulative one and rain gardens enable each of us to do our part and help contribute to a solution," said Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
"More rain gardens coupled with greater awareness of the problem will help protect people, wildlife, and water quality throughout the region."
Tawnya Panizzi is a staff writer with The Herald in Aspinwall.
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