"When a heavy rainstorm hits D.C., it’s bad news for the city’s rivers.

The city’s sewer system, which combines storm runoff and raw sewage in some areas, has a history of overflowing. Instead of flowing into a treatment plant, that toxic mix, along with the sediment, trash and other pollutants storm water washes off streets, ends up in rivers.

The city just finished a major component of a multibillion dollar tunnel system to intercept that storm water, but it’s also turning to a far simpler and cheaper solution: rain gardens."

Rachel McCrea reports for the Washington Post December 10, 2023. [2]