Does your Philly home qualify for green improvements? Take this quiz

For the past six years, the city has offered Rain Check workshops to residents that teach them how to make their homes more eco-friendly through stormwater management. As a thank you, attendees typically go home with a free rain barrel.

Problem is, many times folks show up to the workshop only to find out that their homes don’t even qualify for said rain barrel or other green tool.

Now, there’s a easy fix to avoid that hassle. The Philadelphia Water Department just unveiled a new online quiz that immediately tells you what kind of green improvement project is best for your home.

“People don’t always have time to come to one of our free Rain Check workshops just to find out that their property doesn’t qualify for a rain barrel or other green tool, so we designed the new site in a way that will help residents find out in advance what will work best on their property,” said program manager Jeanne Waldowski.

Here’s how it works: The quiz, found at PWDRaincheck.org, starts off by asking a series of basic questions about your home: Is it a rowhome, single-family, or twin? Do you have a back yard, front yard, or side yard? What’s your budget?

Screenshots via PWDRaincheck.org

Based on your answers, the results will tell you what kind of green tool would work for your home, whether it’s a rain barrel, planter, or something that requires more work, such as a rain garden. Regardless of what type of project, installing them at home keeps stormwater out of sewers and thus out of the city’s Schuylkill and Delaware rivers.

Once you have your answer, you still have to attend a free workshop with the PWD and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to receive a barrel or other green tool. While the barrel is free, other projects are not—but projects that go through the Rain Check’s cost-sharing program can receive up to $2,000, and have the help of certified contractors through the Greater Philadelphia Sustainable Business Network.

According to the PWD, more than 3,500 residents have participated in the Rain Check program.