Seattle's Natural Drainage Systems Wins Government 'Oscar'; Innovative

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Seattle's Natural Drainage Systems Wins Government 'Oscar'; Innovative Program Beautifies and Protects Environment

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The City of Seattle's Natural Drainage Systems (NDS) Program -- a creative and natural way to reduce the negative impact of urban storm water and runoff on Seattle's creeks and marine water bodies -- has won the "Oscar" of government awards from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University and the Council for Excellence in Government. NDS is one of five winners of the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award and will receive a $100,000 grant to support replication of its significant creative efforts.

Designed to mimic the functions of nature that have been lost to urbanization, NDS is based on new science and technology that completely redesigns residential streets, replacing traditional pipes and vaults with a living infrastructure of plants, trees and deep, healthy soil, which absorb storm water and filter pollutants.

The NDS model has been used to alter an area that had no formal drainage system. When the latest project is complete, an entire neighborhood - a total of 18 blocks - will be the largest urban application of low-impact development in the country.

Monitoring from the first natural drainage project, completed in 2000, has shown remarkable results. Using narrow, curved streets and sidewalks with open drainage swales, and a lush variety of plants and trees, the project has reduced overall storm water runoff from the block by 98 percent, providing significant water quality treatment and reducing downstream flooding. Adaptable to existing streets as well as new construction, the program is highly replicable. Its easy-to-understand technical elements can be incorporated by both private development and public agencies.

"The City of Seattle has discovered that ecology can often be more effective than traditional technology," said Gowher Rizvi, director of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation. "Community leaders across the country-and around the world-should take notice." Stephen Goldsmith, former mayor of Indianapolis, former Innovations Award winner and currently Faculty Chair of the Ash Institute at Harvard's Kennedy School added: "Seattle's Natural Drainage System is a shining example of how cities can use nature to be both practical and efficient."

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