What could be floating around in your glass of water? Cigarette butts…. Motor oil? A mixture of any of those pollutants would not make for a delicious, or safe, cocktail—so how do we prevent our waterways, and eventually our glasses, from getting dangerously polluted and simultaneously make our city’s streets greener? 

By utilizing both the water that falls onsite and the water that runs off from surrounding areas, Urban Rain Gardens in DC, planted with drought tolerant plants, filter rainwater and runoff water during storms. Once rainwater hits the pavement it will travel to a storm drain, dragging anything in its path down the drain. Covering more city surfaces with Urban Rain Gardens will allow for greater rainwater filtration and will ensure that our waterways and drinking glasses remain pollutant free and that our streets remain green!

Lauren Pollack is a junior at The George Washington University majoring in Political Communication.