Clean and healthy water and green space is more important than ever. Help expand Friends of the Rouge's work to address environmental justice by creating residential rain gardens that solve clean water and flooding issues. Friends of the Rouge empowers Detroiters to design, create and install their own rain gardens to fight water pollution and flooding and benefit the health of their community, the Rouge River and us all.

Challenge

Whether for drinking or play, clean water is a fundamental human right. Due to Detroit's antiquated sewer system, sewage still gets dumped into Detroit's Rouge River every year during major storms. Stormwater runoff and flooding problems in Detroit directly threaten the fundamental value of clean water for Detroit residents, while also harming the environment, the Rouge River and drinking water for Lake Erie communities.

Long-Term Impact

Friends of the Rouge aims to build 5,000 rain gardens by 2035 in Detroit to help ensure clean water for Detroit's children to enjoy. Rain gardens installed in 2019 now filter and keep 72,000 gallons of water from flooding - every time it rains! Year after year, rain gardens clean up polluted water, reduce flooding, add bird & bee habitat and create seasonal beauty. Every rain garden in Detroit provides a lifetime of benefit and advances a healthier Detroit and a healthier Michigan.

References

1. https://therouge.org/
2. https://therouge.org/rain-gardens-to-the-rescue/

Additional Documentation

https://www.globalgiving.org//pfil/48278/projdoc.pdf

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