Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County aims to have 250 rain barrels built in one weekend. Cooperative Extension trained 25 people to build rain barrels in July, with support from Onondaga County Water and Environment Protection and the city of Syracuse. Each trainer will teach at least 10 people at workshops around the county during Water Quality Awareness Weekend,...
Cornell Cooperative Extension offers workshops to build rain barrels.Cooperative Extension trained 25 people to build rain barrels in July, with support from Onondaga County Water and Environment Protection and the city of Syracuse. Each trainer will teach at least 10 people at workshops around the county during Water
Quality Awareness Weekend, Sept. 24-26.
Rain barrels catch stormwater that lands on the roof. One inch of rainfall on a 100-square-foot roof equals 55 gallons of water, said Jessie Lyons, resource educator with Cooperative Extension.
Stormwater captured in a rain barrel can be used to water plants or wash your car. More important, it stays out of the county's sewer system, which does not have separate pipes for stormwater and toilet waste. Rainstorms cause the sewers to overflow and pollute Onondaga Lake.
The objective of Save the Rain is to prevent combined sewer overflows by capturing stormwater, said BJ Adigun, administrative director of green technology for Onondaga County WEP.
The county is under a federal consent order to stop the overflows using green infrastructure, such as rain barrels and permeable pavement, rather than build
expensive sewage storage facilities. County residents can help by installing rain barrels at their homes.
We want every citizen to feel like they can make a difference, Adigun said.
The county purchased several hundred rain barrels using federal stimulus money, Adigun said. Residents of the city's Near West and South sides, where stormwater runoff is a particular problem, can get free rain barrels. For information, to to www.ongov.net
and click on the Save the Rain link.
For people who live in other parts of the city and county, rain barrels and parts purchased through the workshops cost about $60, though costs vary
based on where materials were purchased.
Registration deadline for the rain barrel workshops is Wednesday, Sept. 8. To register, go to www.extendonondaga.org/registrations or call 424-9485.