Soak Up the Rain is a stormwater public outreach campaign created by the New England office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help raise awareness about the problem of polluted stormwater runoff and encourage action by citizens, municipalities, and others to help reduce runoff.
Launched in 2012, the campaign seeks to highlight the benefits of incorporating green infrastructure, rain barrels, permeable pavement, and other practices for controlling precipitation closer to where it falls and preventing runoff.
The campaign features a website connecting citizens to a host of information and resources, as well as tools to support municipalities in their public outreach efforts.
According to the EPA, Soak Up the Rain measures can prevent water pollution, reduce flooding, protect water resources, beautify neighborhoods, and bring other benefits to communities such as air cooling and helping lower community costs associated with stormwater management.
The program will host a webinar for municipal decision makers and public works staff, environmental organizations, practitioners, and interested citizens on Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 12:00-1:30 EST.