Stormwater Steward Award

Each year, the Athens-Clarke County Stormwater Management Program presents the Stormwater Steward Award to an organization, business, individual, or community group that has gone above and beyond to reduce the impact of stormwater runoff on our waters through a specific project, practice, or event. A list of past stormwater steward winners can be found here. 

Congratulations to our 2023 Stormwater Steward Award winners: Kyle & Melanie Burlew!

This year, we were honored to present the 2023 Stormwater Steward Award to two community members that are intensely dedicated to environmental stewardship. 
Kyle and Melanie Burlew are wonderful examples of what it means to be stormwater stewards at a residential level. They have installed enough rain barrels to their home to collect over 1,700 gallons of rainwater when they're all full and have brought in over 15 truckloads of mulch to put throughout their yard. 
Not only do these rain barrels help Kyle and Melanie to conserve water to be used towards their garden, but the barrels and mulch also reduce a great deal of runoff from their property! With stormwater pollution being the number one source of water pollution, individual efforts really do have ability to make a huge impact and Kyle and Melanie have put so much work into making their yard a space where stormwater truly is used as a resource. We cannot applaud them enough for minimizing runoff from their property and protecting our waterways. 

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