What is Save the Rain?
 is the new campaign by Onondaga County to educate the public and enhance urban settings by building and developing green infrastructure throughout the community. The campaign aims to raise the public’s awareness and understanding of what they can do to help reduce storm water runoff and improve the environment through the use of:
• Rain barrels
• Rain gardens
• Porous pavement
• Green roofs
• Cisterns
• and Bioswale
Since 1998, the County has completed over 30 “gray” projects to improve sewage conveyance and treatment at a cost of over $300 million to date. As a result, the community has seen major improvements in the water quality of Onondaga Lake with dramatically reduced levels of phosphorus and ammonia resulting in increased water clarity, increased oxygen levels and decreased algae. (Click Here for more information.) However, more work remains to be done. This is where green infrastructure comes in and the public’s help is needed.
By reducing the amount of storm water going into the sewers through these “green” technologies, the County hopes to reduce the need for and cost of any future “gray” facilities, while still minimizing the number of Combined Sewer Overflows.
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