Improve Water Quality

Rainwater can be a source of pollutants as rain runs across urban landscapes picking up and carrying pollutants to downstream waterbodies.

In a natural environment, rainwater is absorbed and filtered by soils and plants. Over half (53%) of New Westminster is made up of surfaces that cannot collect, absorb, or clean our rainwater.

Conveying rainwater into rain gardens or other green infrastructure facilities provides a natural way to capture and clean our rain water before returning it to our atmosphere and surrounding rivers. This helps protect water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and overall watershed health.