Love the rain? Local "green streets" help capture and filter it.

As rains finally bring long awaited moisture to the parched Bay Area, a new generation of landscape designs in Alameda County help protect water quality and prevent flooding. These attractive solutions maximize the amount of water absorbed into and filtered by the soil, instead of gushing straight into storm drains, causing flooding and pollution.

Known as “green infrastructure,” these designs mimic drainage patterns of natural landscapes by using permeable pavement and depressions in the ground that help divert water away from roads and other impervious surfaces. As a result, less rain water ends up as runoff that washes motor oil and other pollutants off streets and carries them into storm drains and then directly into creeks, wetlands and the Bay.

“Green infrastructure is a simple yet highly effective approach to keeping our waterways clean while also replenishing ground water,” noted Clean Water Program Manager Jim Scanlin. “When rain water is allowed to absorb slowly into the ground, it is filtered naturally by plants and soil. This process converts polluted stormwater into a much-needed resource.”

Alameda County is required to put in place a certain number of green infrastructure projects as part of the Regional Municipal Stormwater Permit. However, the county has many more such projects than legally required. To learn more about Green Streets and see examples from around the county click here.