In many places—notably Kansas City, Missouri, with its goal
of 10,000 rain gardens, and Portland, Oregon, with its pedestrian and bicycle
tours of stormwater management facilities—public officials are trying to get
citizens tangibly involved with stormwater. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer
District is joining in with rain barrels, selling 55-gallon barrels for $45 a
pop to customers who want to help ease the strain on the beleaguered sewer
system and reduce overflows during heavy rains.
Not only do the barrels reduce the amount of water entering the system by
capturing and temporarily holding roof runoff, they also help people understand
the concept of “imperviousness” and let them feel they’re making a contribution.
And although even MSD hasn’t calculated the net effects various numbers of rain
barrels would have on the sewer system, as one employee says, “more is better.”
As yet, using the rain barrels
won’t result in a reduction in stormwater fees, but MSD is subsidizing the
barrels, at $20 each, to make them affordable to more residents. One resident
reports buying the rain barrels even though he doesn’t think they’ll hold enough
water to have a significant effect one way or another on the sewer system; he
sees them mainly as a way to collect non-chlorinated water to irrigate his yard.
Does your city have a program in
place to encourage the use of rain barrels, rain gardens, or other forms of
retention? Where do you think the main value of such programs lies—in their
effect on runoff or as a tool for public education?