Rain Guardians
Help keep San Francisco’s rain gardens clean and your neighborhood beautiful!
The SFPUC has launched the Rain Guardians program! Similar to our popular Adopt-A-Drain program, the Rain Guardians program enables San Francisco residents to become guardians of our new rain gardens. Visit rainguardians.org to join now!
What will Rain Guardians do?
Rain gardens are a green infrastructure feature that take advantage of the natural processes of soils and plants in order to slow down and clean stormwater and keep it from overwhelming the City's sewer system. Rain gardens are typically depressed below the street level so that stormwater can easily flow in and be treated by the soils and plants; this also means they have a tendency to collect debris and trash year-round. Rain Guardians will regularly remove trash from their rain garden and report any other issues.
How can I protect rain gardens in my neighborhood?
You don’t need to be a Rain Guardian to be a good neighbor to rain gardens! Improper cleanup practices and disposal of greasy water on streets and sidewalks cause damage when they enter catch basins or rain gardens along the street. Keep greasy wash water, oils, and pollutants off the sidewalks, streets, and rain gardens. For protecting rain gardens specifically, check out our Do's and Dont's guide. You can always protect your local green street by following the best practices outlined in the brochure. (English, Chinese, Spanish)
Contact the Rain Guardians Team at rainguardians@sfwater.org with questions about the program.
Program Materials