In May, the City of Burien welcomed Mary Eidmann to serve as its Stormwater Outreach Specialist. This newly-founded position will allow the City to increase its stormwater education and outreach throughout the community and fulfill State requirements for the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. Through her work, she will increase opportunities for environmental education within Highline Public Schools, promote the use of Low Impact Development throughout Burien, and help protect and restore our local waterways.

“We are very excited to have Mary on our stormwater team here at the City,” said Maiya Andrews, Public Works Director. “She is energetic and excited about opportunities for new programs, and has really hit the ground running, already working on several education and outreach ideas.”

Eidmann comes to the City with a strong background in stormwater management best-practices and environmental sustainability. Most recently, she served as the Water Conservation Specialist for the City of Lake Havasu, Arizona. There, she launched the Lake Havasu City Water Festival, a student film contest, a water conservation photo contest for adults, the Island Bike Path Green Infrastructure Project, and various programs about native desert planting.

As a graduate of Central Washington University, Eidmann is no stranger to the Pacific Northwest. During her studies, she gained experience monitoring salmon through the Columbia River dams, supervising the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Youth Corps litter pick-up, and took part in environmental education at the Wild Horse Wind Farm in Vantage. She was drawn to Burien because of its unique environmental perspective as a city bordering the Puget Sound.

“The community here is diverse and likes to get involved. I’ve already received a staggering amount of positive response from community groups who want to help out,” said Eidmann. “The South Sound has many organizations dedicated to stormwater outreach and environmental preservation, and now the City can play its role in their efforts as we collaborate more with these groups.”

Eidmann is particularly impressed by the innovative steps that residents here take to tackle stormwater issues. “People here tend to be open to new ideas about natural stormwater management and use features like rain gardens, rain cisterns, and other low impact development techniques.”

Eidmann moved to the region with her husband and three loving dogs whose interests include fetch, meeting new people, and following their humans around the house.