Located in the South Park neighborhood in south Seattle, family-owned Cloverdale Apartments comprises of 19 units. Cloverdale Apartments’ RainWise installation manages rainwater runoff from nearly 6,000 square feet of flat roof area. The project

• allows the apartment building to conserve water for their garden,
• reduces the potential for flooding,
• keeps about 86,000 gallons of stormwater out of the system each year, and
• protects Puget Sound from combined sewer system overflows.

The installation was completed in July 2014, with a total of $18,260 covered by the RainWise rebate program.

Three 205 gallon cisterns capture 2,106 ft²of roof area and overflow into a catch basin located in the apartment courtyard. 3,730 ft²of roof area is captured by two rain gardens, with one with overflow to the side sewer and the other overflows to the sidewalk.

In 2014, the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) interviewed Cloverdale Apartments owner, Nick Horocks.

What motivated you to participate in RainWise?

“It’s just me and my mom running this business. We both care about the environment and wanted to do something to help with the runoff issues. But primarily, it was free and it also made our front area look fantastic. We also had some drainage issues at the back. Gutters dropping into parking areas created mold and it didn’t look good.”

How did you get involved?

“We were first approached by the ECOSS outreach staff. We wanted to learn more and were connected to a RainWise contractor. Before committing, we went around to a couple of rain gardens in the area and we liked them. We then talked with Rain Dog Designs, they told us what they could do, we signed off on it, and they went to work.”

Can you think of other things that would make the program more appealing to other property owners?

“The main benefits of the RainWise program to my property were:

1. Aesthetic value – It made our building look a lot better and it’ll get betteras years go by.

2. Flood control – Before the installation we experienced leakage from the gutters into the parking lot. After the installation this issue was resolved

3. Near free – Honestly I don’t really know what to tell you. It was such an easy process and you can’tbeat free!”

Project partners include church leadership, King County staff, RainWise outreach staff and the creative design talents of the RainWise contractor, Rain Dog Designs. All stakeholders worked together to keep thousands of gallons of rainwater out of the sewer system each year.