Contain the Rain - How Johnson County, KS is improving water quality through public engagement and rebates

The Contain the Rain Program is an incentive program that encourages private landowners to incorporate projects on their property to reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality. This program began in 2011 as a means to engage the public in ways to address stormwater pollution as well as meet NPDES Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permits. The guiding principle of the Contain the Rain Program was that grassroots behavior change would be the best return on investment for changing behaviors and prioritizing water resources in our County. The Contain the Rain Program is funded by the Johnson County - Stormwater Management Program through a 1/10th of one cent sales tax which can only be utilized for addressing stormwater-related issues in the County. The County provides funds, up to $15,000, to each of the 19 cities in the County to administer this program to their citizens. Not only is this method far superior to the County administering the program itself, it allows for cities to become more invested in stormwater quality through incentive-related public engagement. In 2022, a total of 14 cities participated, offering more than $74,000 to residents who installed approved projects. Residents who apply to the program must install one of the following projects: rain barrel, rain garden, native tree, riparian corridor restoration, soil quality restoration, permeable pavement, native planting, native plant swale, or floating wetland. While this program is essential for cities in the County to meet their NDPES MS4 permit compliance, it is far more important to the community. Since 2011, cities across Johnson County have noticed a change in the public's perception of stormwater. Specifically, the agency a resident feels they can take in making real change that improves water quality and protects our region's water resources. The Contain the Rain Program provides the perfect opportunity for people of many different socioeconomic backgrounds and opportunity to improve their property, while being climate and environmentally conscious. As our region of the Heartland deals with a changing climate that threatens to have prolonged periods of drought interspersed with record-breaking inundation, our residents often feel helpless to act. This program provides the community with opportunities to make themselves more climate resilient, through native plant installation, removal of traditionally non-native turf, and incorporation of stormwater treatment elements where previously there had been none. This presentation will cover the history of the Contain the Rain Program, from its origin in 2011 and its genesis to current day. We will also provide an overview of how the program operates, how funding is allocated, and how Contain the Rain was advocated for in front of elected officials and executive staff alike. We will then go into the popularity of certain projects, their affect on water quality, and trends we are seeing in project types and plant selections. One important aspect of this presentation will be the co-author who manages the Contain the Rain Program for their city (Overland Park, KS). They will provide their view on how it is to interact with resident's, the level of engagement and education that comes from this program, and how successful their city has been. Finally, our presentation will provide attendees with lessons learned, how they can implement this program in their community, and why this should rebate program's like Contain the Rain are an essential tool in the tool-box for stormwater and water resource managers.