The Chesapeake Bay is often referred to as a national treasure. Communities across the watershed benefit from keeping this beloved body of water safe and healthy. Many industries and recreational activities rely on clean water. Wildlife needs clean water for survival. Our mental and physical health demands clean water.
These numerous shared benefits come with a shared responsibility to protect the Bay and its surrounding natural resources. With a vast and vibrant watershed, there are also numerous ways to take action. People can even start at home.


In Prince George’s County and the City of Rockville in Maryland, rebate programs are available to help property owners address stormwater pollution. Through the Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate Program and the City of Rockville RainScapes Program, the Chesapeake Bay Trust empowers residents to make small improvements to their homes to help improve water quality.
“It’s a great opportunity for residents and property owners in the County to reduce runoff and pollution into waterways that all lead into the Chesapeake Bay,” shared Jeff DeHan, Associate Director of the Stormwater Management Division with the Prince George’s County Government Department of the Environment. “Chesapeake Bay Trust has been a great partner. They help us identify properties, work very closely with the property owners and help them make decisions about what is the best method for treating their properties.”
The Trust has partnered with the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment for over a decade. Through the Rain Check Rebate Program, homeowners and businesses can receive reimbursements for property improvements that promote local stream and river health. Rebates are eligible for rain barrels, cisterns, rain gardens, conservation landscaping, urban tree canopy, pavement removal, permeable pavement, and green roofs.
“We decided to put in a rain garden,” said Mark Theiling, a Rain Check Rebate Program recipient. His wife Bethany Theiling designed the rain garden for their home in Hyattsville. “Prince George’s County paid us back for it which was awesome.”
“I think that it’s wonderful that this exists,” added Bethany. “We’re both passionate about doing what we can to support a good ecosystem, even in our yard.”

The Rain Check Rebate Program will reimburse up to $6,000 per project for residential property owners and $20,000 per project for commercial property owners to install stormwater management practices that reduce contaminants flowing into local waterways and the Bay.
Down the road in Montgomery County, the City of Rockville also offers rebates for rain barrels, cisterns, conservation landscaping, rain gardens, tree canopy, green roofs, pavement removal, and permeable pavers. Through the RainScapes Rebate Program, residents and nonprofits can receive reimbursements up to $5,000 per project to treat stormwater at their property. Property owners are finding that these stormwater solutions come with additional benefits to their personal homes.

“We’ve taken a part of our property and focused on native plants,” exclaimed David J. Smith, a RainScapes Rebate Program recipient. “It’s been great. We’ve been getting a lot of birds, more than we got before!”

“About 200 native plants have gone in the ground,” Christina Sainato, another RainScapes Rebate Program recipient in the city, explained about her home improvement. “It’s brought a lot of life to our yard that my whole family is enjoying.”
These programs provide the access to resources that many property owners need to join the collective effort to keep pollution from entering our waterways and the Bay.
“Everyone on some level can be helping to improve water quality,” said Shannon Philbin, Environmental Outreach Specialist in the Department of Public Works for the City of Rockville. “I would love to see everybody install some kind of rain scape on their property. It has so many benefits – helps with reducing pollution, helps clean the air, and it helps bring habitat to the city.”

When we empower people to design and implement their own individual stormwater solutions, property by property, neighborhood by neighborhood, we can ensure all communities have access to clean water.
As Delany Samons, Chesapeake Bay Trust Program Officer, shared, “These programs offer the rebates and the funding for residents to really have a positive impact on their property and do something smaller scale that may have a larger impact than we all think.”
To learn more about the Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate Program and to apply, click here: Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate
To learn more about the City of Rockville RainScapes Rebate Program and to apply, click here: City of Rockville RainScapes Rebate