In 2025, ActiveSGV will begin installing rain gardens at residential homes within high-need communities in the San Gabriel Valley. What’s a rain garden? A rain garden is designed to temporarily hold and soak up rainwater runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, patios, or lawns. When constructed with native plants, trees, rocks, and logs, rain gardens conserve water and finances, reduce ambient temperature, help clean polluted water and air, and support local wildlife.

Effective at removing chemicals and sediments from runoff, rain gardens soak an estimated 30% more water into the ground than a traditional grass lawn. But unlike a pond, rain gardens are dry most of the time, typically holding water only during and following rain showers. As a result, they do not facilitate the breeding of mosquitoes.

While there will be no cost for selected households, the following guidelines will apply to the program:

• Participants need to live in a San Gabriel Valley neighborhood considered eligible by the US EPA (orange highlighted communities on the map here) and commit to supporting native tree establishment by watering once a week during the dry season. 
• Front yards should be 800 sq feet or more to provide sufficient space for installation. 
• Homes should have rain gutters to help redirect stormwater into the garden.
• Priority will be granted to those composed of older adults, low-income residents, and persons on fixed incomes, as well as those with neighbors who also wish to participate and qualify; for the program, a 'neighbor' is loosely defined as a person within a 3-block radius.

The program is one element of the larger, three-year GREEN SGV project made possible by the US Environmental Protection Agency's Community Change Grant program, which is funded by the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2022.

Members of the public should complete this application form to apply. Please note that we will only be able to select sixty households for rain garden installations at this time. We anticipate more interest in the program than available spaces.