Combined Sewer Overflow Angst - There'll be none of that at The Highlands

This ... Or this?

Sometimes we have a choice. (storm drain photo from Sightline Daily)

While not very appealing to read, this article about the issues the city of Seattle is dealing with regarding storm water graphically illustrates one of the main reasons The Highlands was developed using Low Impact Development methods.

The same amount of rain falls on the ground at The Highlands as any other property in the Langley area. But in this neighborhood that water soaks into the ground, either naturally due to large areas of native forest, or by way of the rain gardens that receive run off from the roofs of the homes.

Last May The City of Langley passed a storm water plan. The retrofits to city systems are going to be expensive. Because The Highlands was originally built using methods that effectively deal with storm water on site, the city won't have to include the neighborhood in the project.

Here's a video of a newly installed rain garden at one of the cottages in Snowberry Close.