The City of Raleigh wants to tame the rain. Specifically, the City wants to reduce the harm that comes when rain drains off surfaces and becomes “stormwater.” After a downpour in urban areas, with the abundance of concrete and other hard surfaces, stormwater has to go somewhere. It gushes untreated into storm drains and picks up contaminants in the process.

Fortunately, there are tools to slow down, filter and store rain and stormwater. And the City’s Stormwater Management Division will help residents pay for them.

The City is willing to reimburse Raleigh residents who install cisterns, rain gardens, green roofs and other tools that treat stormwater through its Stormwater Quality Cost Share Program. These devices capture stormwater and turn it into a resource instead of a nuisance. Any property owner can apply to be reimbursed for 75 percent of the cost of installing a treatment device. For properties in a sensitive watershed the reimbursement rate is 90 percent.

The program has helped fund 21 stormwater quality projects since it began in 2009, and the City is encouraging more applications from interested citizens. It has an annual budget of $250,000, funded through the stormwater fees that Raleigh residents pay.

For further reading, access the article on the Raleigh municipal webpage here.