Alarmed by the Willamette River's high pollution levels and vanishing salmon habitat, Portland has begun coaxing private landowners and institutions to curb urban runoff. As an incentive, the city is offering $450,000 to be divided among 15 pilot projects that use landscaping and changes in drainage patterns to reduce the amount of water entering the city's combined stormwater and sewage system, which overflows almost every time it rains. As one of the first projects, vegetation and a sand-filled trench will be added to a Boys & Girls Club property to absorb and filter runoff. Other projects are expected to follow the lead of the Oregon Museum of Science and Technology, which has added rows of plants to its parking lot to capture rainfall.

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Photo: Willamette Stormwater Control Program