Located in Bryant neighborhood of northeast Seattle, Congregation Beth Shalom is a participatory, egalitarian congregation affiliated with the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism. They’ve cultivated a community which values diversity and engagement and nurtures ways to connect with one another. With these values in mind, they went through the RainWise program. Congregation Beth Shalom’s RainWise installation includes seven cisterns and a beautiful rain garden, managing rainwater runoff from a total of over 9,000 square feet of roof area. The project

• keeps nearly 50,000 gallons of stormwater out of the combined sewer system every year,
• allows the synagogue community to be a part of the solution for stormwater pollution,
• captures and filters stormwater run-off from the roof, and
• protects Puget Sound from combined sewer system overflows.

The project was completed in April 2019, with a total of $30,806 covered by the RainWise rebate program.

Congregation Beth Shalom includes two sites that were eligible for RainWise: the main synagogue and an adjoining house. RainWise contractor, HomeGrown Organics, installed six cisterns and one rain garden to capture rainwater that falls on 8,504 square feet of the synagogue’s roof. Most of the roof is captured by five 530-gallon cisterns and one 205-gallon cistern. The rain garden capture rainwater that falls on 1,113 square feet of roof, which overflows to the sidewalk. At the house, one 530-gallon cistern captures 737 square feet of rooftop. Once captured, the cistern overflows into the side sewer.

In May 2019, the RainWise Program celebrated Congregation Beth Shalom’s commitment to clean water with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The synagogue urges other faith-based organizations, school and community centers in eligible basins to take advantage of the RainWise program.

Project partners include synagogue leadership, City of Seattle staff, RainWise outreach staff and the creative design talents of the RainWise contractor, HomeGrown Organics. All stakeholders worked together to keep thousands of gallons of rainwater out of the sewer system each year.