Montgomery County opens RainScapes portal, offers up to $20,000 to residents and businesses to reduce stormwater runoff.
The Maryland Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is now accepting RainScapes Reward Rebate applications for residents and businesses who take measures to reduce stormwater runoff from individual properties.
County residents and companies outside the cities of Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park may be eligible for refunds of up to $7,500 for residential properties and $20,000 for businesses.
A rainscape is a landscape or design technique that helps reduce stormwater runoff from individual properties and that prevents pollutants, chemicals, oils and heavy metals from washing directly into the local waterways.
“Rainscapes are a simple, but powerful, way to improve the health of our local environment while addressing the growing impacts of climate change,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in a press release. “As we see more frequent and intense rainfall, managing stormwater runoff is critical to protecting our water quality and preventing damage to our ecosystems.”
The annual RainScapes Rebate program budget is $610,000. Nearly $410,000 is still available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The program is funded under the Water Quality Protection Charge (WQPC). All property owners in the county (outside of the cities of Gaithersburg, Rockville and Takoma Park), including businesses, HOAs and nonprofit organizations, pay the WPQC.
Residents can reduce their WPQC charge by having a stormwater management practice on their property if they apply for a WQPC Credit.
DEP offers rebates for six types of rainscape projects:
- Green roof – treat the first inch of rainfall before it can reach the ground and hold special soil and plants.
- Pavement removal – reduce the hard surfaces that add to stormwater runoff.
- Permeable pavement – allows stormwater to seep into the ground while maintaining a durable surface for cars and people.
- Stormwater garden type: Conservation landscape – simplified rain gardens that slow down and soak up stormwater runoff.
- Stormwater garden type: Rain garden – collect stormwater runoff from hard surfaces like roofs and driveways and temporarily store runoff in a six-inch-deep puddle that drains into the soil quickly.
- Water harvesting – above ground containers (rain barrels and cisterns) attach to roof downspouts that store rainwater for future use.
County residents can complete a RainScapes application and learn more about the program on this website.
