At one end of the Prairie Line Trail running through UW Tacoma's campus is an innovative rain water treatment facility, although it may not be immediately apparent to the casual eye.
The rain garden uses plants, soil, steel troughs and an underground tank to keep pollutants washed off Tacoma's streets from entering the stormwater system. Stormwater is collected and run through six treatment cells which use soil to filter out pollutants before returning the treated water to the general stormwater system.
The rain garden treats rainwater which falls on 42 acres around the UWT campus, water which previously would have swept litter and pollutants from the streets directly into the storm drains.
For more information on the rain garden and how it works, see UW Tacoma's article, "How It Works: Prairie Line Trail Stormwater Treatment."