Reduce Runoff: Slow it down, Spread it out, Soak it in
This new 9-minute video, “Reduce Runoff: Slow It
Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In,” highlights green techniques
such as rain gardens, green roofs, and rain barrels that help
manage stormwater runoff in a more sustainable manner. The
film, produced in partnership with the U.S. Botanic Garden,
showcases green techniques that are being used in urban areas
to minimize the impacts of stormwater runoff on the quality of
downstream receiving waters.
The goal is to mimic the natural way water moves through
an area before development by using design techniques that
infiltrate, evaporate, and reuse runoff close to its source. The
green techniques, including rain gardens, green roofs, rain
barrels and cisterns, are very effective at reducing the volume
of stormwater runoff and capturing harmful pollutants. These
green practices increasingly are being used by communities
across the country to help protect and restore water quality.
Using vegetated areas that capture runoff also improves air
quality, mitigates the effects of urban heat islands, and reduces
a community’s overall carbon footprint.
The video includes green techniques on display in 2008
at the U.S. Botanic Garden’s “One Planet – Ours!” Exhibit. It
also highlights green techniques at U.S. EPA’s Headquarters
in Washington, D.C. including recently completed cisterns. Six
1,000-gallon cisterns installed in the basement at EPA’s West
Building now collect roof runoff from the building. This cistern
water irrigates planting beds and grass in front of EPA’s West
Building along Constitution Avenue, thereby conserving water
and reducing runoff to the Chesapeake Bay.
The video is available online at: www.epa.gov/nps/lid. Also, see
www.epa.gov/owow/nps/lid/stormwater_hq/ for more
information on Stormwater Management at EPA Headquarters.