HARRISONBURG - Becky Bartells of Harrisonburg crawled into a 55-gallon plastic drum on Saturday to affix a spigot to the bottom of the barrel-like container.
Amanda Zale, also of Harrisonburg, addressed Bartells as "doctor" as she handed her friend the caulking tube and pliers.
The women were among dozens of local residents who learned about, and helped create, about 100 rain barrels. The project was part of a regional program to educate residents on the benefits of rain barrels to the environment and property owners.
Storm Water Management
The event - sponsored by the Harrisonburg Public Works Department, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District - was held at the Cecil F. Gilkerson Community Activities Center on Saturday. The project was paid for with the help of grant funds and participant fees.
Representatives of the sponsoring organizations discussed how sediment carried by storm water can damage a stream's health.
Water collected in a rain barrel would normally pour off one's roof or through gutters and into a storm drain, eventually becoming storm water runoff. Such runoff can contain a potpourri of potentially damaging nutrients, oil, bacteria and other waste harmful to waterways.
The drums allow residents to disperse the water slowly into the ground, which in turn prevents it from flowing directly into storm water drains, said City Public Works Planner Thanh Dang.
The barrels also help reduce water use - and residents' utility bills - by collecting rainwater that can be used for flowerbeds, vegetable gardens and other non-potable uses. According to some estimates, a rain barrel can save approximately 1,300 gallons of water during peak summer months.
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