Located in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, Woodland Park United Methodist Church is vital to the surrounding community. The Hammond House Women’s shelter is based at the church, providing 20 beds for those in need of temporary shelter. Now an environmental steward, Woodland Park United Methodist RainWise installation includes five cisterns and a beautiful rain garden, managing rainwater runoff from a total of over 8,000 square feet of roof area. The project

• keeps 30,000 gallons of stormwater out of the combined sewer system every year,
• allows the church community to be a part of the solution for stormwater pollution,
• captures and filters stormwater run-off from the roof,
• protects Puget Sound from combined sewer system overflows.

The project was completed in July 2018, with a total of $23,660.02 covered by the RainWise rebate program.

Working with the Duwamish Infrastructure Training Program (DIRT Corps), Aster Rosa Ecology completed the project in about five months. The installation includes five 625-gallon cisterns and one 20 square foot rain garden. Instead of installing all five cisterns together, Aster Rosa chose to connect each cistern at critical points around the building. Woodland Park United Methodist graciously allowed their RainWise contractor to replace their existing garden with a RainWise rain garden, while keeping the same aesthetic as the previous garden.

In September 2018, the RainWise Program celebrated Woodland Park United Methodist’s commitment to clean water with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The church urges other faith-based organizations, school and community centers in eligible basins to take advantage of the RainWise program.

“This is a great opportunity to help lead the community in being good stewards of the environment.”

– Tom Yeager, WPUM Trustee

Project partners include church leadership, King County staff, RainWise outreach staff and the creative design talents of the RainWise contractor, Aster Rosa Ecology.