If you want to get out of the city and have a fun and educational walk, go visit Lorna Jordan's Waterworks Garden a few minutes outside Seattle, near beautiful downtown Renton.
Lorna's design for Waterworks Gardens combined classical garden design, wastewater treatment infrastructure and habitat restoration. The garden is a great place to stroll and get out doors, while enjoying an art installation and understanding how nature cleans dirty water to provide us with clean drinking water. The artist was inspired by her study of Italian gardens and the sense of theater that she observed there. The Grotto was hand made from stone and concrete and, with its flowing water, pools, native plantings, mosaic, and stone seating, remains a favorite gathering place for visitors to the site.
Storm water runoff is collected from the grounds of the wastewater reclamation plant and pumped into 11 ponds that settle out contaminants and sediments. Water is then released into the wetland below, helping to sustain plant life, microorganisms and wildlife. The storm water treatment ponds and wetland form an earth/water sculpture, which funnels, captures and releases water. A path called Water Walk weaves through the ponds and wetland to join trails from the cities of Renton and Tukwila. Along the walk, visitors pass through five garden spaces.
The Waterworks Gardens are located at 1200 Monster Road SW, Renton, Washington, 98055