Township rolls out the barrels to relieve runoff
Alison Dietz | The Chronicle-Telegram
EATON TWP. — Storms tend to drench Eaton Township with water, creating swamps in backyards and filling up the sewer system.
So the township’s Storm Water Management Committee proposed a way to alleviate the problem: having residents store runoff water in 55-gallon barrels.
There already are three of these barrels installed in the area to collect water from gutters.
The committee recruited Cole Musial, a Boy Scout in Avon Lake, to put together the rain barrels for his Eagle Scout project. He and committee members made designs, and then he found the materials to build the barrels. Musial also called around to find locations for them.
One of the barrels is at the corner of Schild’s IGA on Royalton Road.
Manager Kevin Schild said he can use the collected water to hydrate the plants around the store “or whatever I choose.”
The rain barrel has been up at the store for about a month. Although there hasn’t been much rain to test it with, Schild is looking forward to the barrel’s benefits.
“It should be good, especially in the spring with the new growth,” Schild said. “It can get a little dry.”
The other two barrels have been placed at the Eaton Town Hall. The committee is also working on building a rain garden there that will be watered by the barrels.
Patrons of the Lorain County Fair will be able to see a fourth rain barrel firsthand courtesy of the Lorain County Soil and Water Conservation District. After the fair, the group will have the barrel on display in the lobby of its Russia Road office.
The district also will be distributing a brochure explaining to residents where they can purchase a rain barrel or how to make one of their own.
Although the barrels cost about $60 to $70 each, capturing rain can save that money again on the water bill.
“It’s just reusing water we already have coming to us,” said Charlotte Thomas-Ruggles, a member of the committee.
The barrel water helps out the environment, and it relieves the problem of standing water on the ground.
“Water collected in the barrel doesn’t have any chemicals,” Thomas-Ruggles said.
It can also help with the flooding issues the township has, said Linda Morrison, the committee’s founder.
“The more we do, the less flooding we’ll have,” she said.
Inspired residents aren’t limited in their water holding.
“You don’t have to have just one,” Thomas-Ruggles said. Morrison said she’d seen some houses with four or five barrels that were used even for washing cars.
The committee’s ideal is for every house to have at least one barrel.
“It takes more than three barrels to make a difference,” Thomas-Ruggles said.
Contact Alison Dietz at 329-7128 or metro@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Alison Dietz | The Chronicle-Telegram August 15th, 2008 in Local and State. Popularity: 3% |
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Comments
Comment from
Boomer
August 15, 2008, 3:58 am
Back in the 50’s, when I was much younger, My father and I built a cistern to hold rain water in an area that was prone to flooding. It captured all of the water from the roof of the house and other collection containers that my father had built. We used the water to bathe in and wash clothes and water the garden evey summer and I can’t remember a time that it was empty. Food for thought for flood areas.
Comment from
Linda D Morrison
August 20, 2008, 8:28 pm
Boomer -
Great idea - I too had lived at a home in Grafton Township which had a cistern which we used for basically the same things you did. I had forgotten about this, but I am certainly going to bring it up at our next Storm Water Management Committee meeting for discussion. Nancy Funni from Lorain Soil & Water as well as Dan Gouch from the Black River Watershed attend our meeting and I would be interested in hearing their feedback. Thanks for the input.
Linda Morrison
PS Rain barrels = less mosquitoes than the areas that are prone to flooding. The skimmer/strainer basket that you use at the point of entry can help to control the mosquitoes and the rest of the barrel is a sealed unit other than the overflow pipe. I agree if you are only considering an open topped barrel.
Comment from
Boomer
August 21, 2008, 5:18 am
Linda Morrison,
Your welcome. Hope it does some good for all of you.
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