City of Kirkland Launches New Yard Smart Rain Rewards Program
Published on March 25, 2019
Media Contact:
Kellie Stickney
Communications Program Manager
kstickney@kirklandwa.gov
(425) 979-6562
Kirkland, Wash. – The City of Kirkland has launched an exciting new program called Yard Smart Rain Rewards to provide free technical and financial assistance to qualified Kirkland property owners who install simple and beautiful landscaping projects to manage rainwater on their property.
Under this new program, property owners who install environmentally-friendly landscape projects like rain gardens, rain capture cisterns, and native landscaping will qualify for rebates covering between 75 and 100% of their project costs up to $3,500 for single-family homes and up to $7,000 for multi-family, commercial, non-profit, and industrial properties. “The goal of this program is to work with Kirkland property owners to slow the flow of rainwater runoff and allow it to naturally soak into the ground before it reaches Forbes Creek or Lake Washington,” said Aaron Hussmann, Education and Outreach Specialist with the City.
Every time it rains, water picks up and carries pollutants from our roofs, driveways, patios, and lawns, into the nearest storm drain, and finally into local creeks and Lake Washington. During big storms, the volume of rainwater runoff can cause neighborhood flooding and erosion hazards. Yard Smart Rain Rewards projects are designed to capture that polluted rainwater before it leaves a property, slow its flow, and allow it to soak into the ground naturally where pollutants can be filtered out.
Property owners in the Forbes Creek watershed (including large portions of North and South Rose Hill neighborhoods, and small portions of the Highlands, Juanita, Norkirk, and Totem Lake Neighborhoods) are eligible to install a Yard Smart project and claim a Rain Rewards rebate.
Participants in Yard Smart Rain Rewards will receive a free consultation at their property to determine the project that is best suited for their budget, time, and goals. To learn more, determine your eligibility, or sign up for a free Yard Smart consultation, visit kirklandwa.gov/yardsmart. Each property consultation also includes a free bag of yard-friendly compost.
For more information, contact Kirkland’s Yard Smart Rain Rewards program at 425-587-3857 or yardsmart@kirklandwa.gov.
Yard Smart Rain Rewards is funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement with the Washington Department of Ecology.