SOMERSET —
Consider the rain barrel.
Len Lichvar has – and he likes what he has found.
“It’s one of those things that’s warm and fuzzy,” Lichvar said. It’s user friendly and distinctly nontechnical.
As director of the Somerset County Conservation District, Lichvar last week landed a $24,000 grant to put 200 barrels at homes along Coxes Creek. They would serve to prevent pesticide runoff, sediment deposits and flooding – and provide homeowners water to wash cars and water plants with.
“Does one rain barrel or two make a difference? No. But collectively (yes); it is the cumulative impact of them,” Lichvar said.
“It’s not going to flood-proof Somerset Borough. We’re not going to make that claim. But it’s a step in that direction.”
The conservation district office this summer will map out and canvass the most flood-prone areas.
“We have to be target-specific to have the greatest impact we can,” Lichvar said. “We hope to be able to replicate it in some ways in the future.”
Within two years, free barrels will be offered to residents there. Participation is voluntary.
Bob and Sue Hook of West Garrett Street aren’t waiting around.
They’ve had a rain barrel for several years to conserve water and got a new one last year.
“It makes me feel good that we’re not drawing public water, which is also treated,” Sue Hook said. “And it goes back into the ground and is not treated with any chemicals or anything.”
She either attaches a hose to the barrel or uses the spigot to fill a watering can for her flowers.
“I highly recommend it. It’s very easy to do,” Hook said.
She said their drum fills quickly and estimates she goes through about 1,000 gallons a year – water the couple does not need to draw and pay for from the municipal system.
The barrels are connected to the downspouts of a home and the water is filtered through a screen to keep mosquitoes and debris out.
Lichvar agrees the 58-gallon drums fill quickly and has the math handy to prove it.
He said one inch of rain on a roof that measures 2,000 square feet will produce a whopping 1,200 gallons of water.
The conservation district has a deal with a Somerset company to retrofit the barrels, which are made of heavy gauge plastic, with screens and spigots. The barrels actually are recycled food barrels that were used to import olives from Greece.
Available now
The conservation district started up its barrel program more than two years ago and sells them to the public for $75 each or $100 for two. More than 150 have been sold.
Lichvar has heard the same plea time and again.
“ ‘I’m just one citizen. What can I do to make a difference environmentally or conservation-wise at home?’ ” he said last week. “A rain barrel fits that need very nicely.”
He said barrel collection of water – a procedure that goes back thousands of years – allows pollutants to be released gradually and makes an excellent stormwater management tool.
Lichvar said Somerset Trust Co. also is contributing $1,000 to be put toward the $24,000 state grant. The state funding was handed out to watershed groups, nonprofits and local governments to address water quality concerns.
Lichvar is hopeful that the renewed emphasis on the barrel effort will educate the public on its value and increase future participation.
“Our goal here is to allow borough residents to do something rather simple to benefit themselves, the borough and the environment,” he said.
Local News
Related Photos
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Bob and Sue Hook of Somerset show the rain barrel that they use for gardening, saving about 1,000 gallons of water a year. Dave Lloyd
Discussion
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