For immediate release
Fowler students design rain garden with Clean Water Services to protect Summer Creek
Photo Opportunity
Hillsboro, OR — October 11, 2007 —
Clean Water Services is working with seventh grade science students at Fowler Middle School in Tigard to design and install a rain garden to cleanse and slow down stormwater runoff from part of the school parking lot. Stormwater runoff is the leading cause of pollution in our urban streams.
The rain garden will consist of a landscaped area that will be transformed into a native plant filled pond or swale that will clean the water before it enters storm drains that lead straight to Summer Creek—the school's backyard stream.
The Fowler rain garden is a model project for stormwater management that includes students in the design, construction and long-term care, that Clean Water Services hopes can be transferred to other schools
and public sites. Recently science teacher Sue Manning and the students worked with a Clean Water Services
water truck to create an artificial storm. The students measured the size of the drainage area and timed how
long it took the water to infiltrate the soil. This information will be used to calculate the size of the rain
garden. Later the students will create proposed drawings of the garden which Clean Water Services will use as construction plans. Students and other volunteers will then install native plants and be responsible for regular maintenance of the rain garden.
"Kids are naturally curious and want to be helpful," said Carrie Pak, Engineering Division Manager with Clean Water Services. "We think that this pilot project offers a unique opportunity to educate and demonstrate how easy and fun it can be to clean up a small part of the Earth. We hope that pilot will be an inspirational challenge to all other middle and high school students to build rain gardens in their own schools."
Fowler students, parents and staff have done extensive work in past years to clear out invasive plants
and plant native vegetation around the school that provide habitat and water quality benefits. The rain garden is a natural next step. "When students found out that the stormwater from the parking lot was going directly into the creek and polluting the water, they were shocked and disappointed," said Sue Manning.
Manning's drive for hands-on environmental education blends perfectly with local organizations' stormwater goals. According to Brian Wegener, Watershed Watch Coordinator for Tualatin Riverkeepers, "These enthusiastic students are taking an active role in caring for their creek, and in the process educating their community about better ways to deal with stormwater. Sue Manning has sparked great interest in her students and brought together Clean Water Services, Tualatin Riverkeepers and the City of Tigard to make this project a long term success."
Clean Water Services is a water resource management utility for more than 500,000 people in urban Washington County and small portions of Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Lake Oswego, and Portland. Clean Water Services operates four wastewater treatment facilities, constructs and maintains flood management and water quality projects, and manages flow in the Tualatin River to improve water quality and protect fish habitat. Although Clean Water Services maintains a close working relationship with Washington County government, it is a separately managed and financed public utility.
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