On Thursday April 21, a group of H-SC students from Dr. Goodman’s BIOL 185 Water Resources & Environmental Issues course (plus 1 volunteer from CKI) teamed up to build rain barrels.  These 41 barrels will be distributed at upcoming educational workshops run by Clean Virginia Waterways.

Rain barrels help the environment by conserving water, which does not have to be treated and pumped to the home if it is coming out of a barrel.

Also, rain barrels reduce runoff, which can cause erosion, plus carry fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals into streams where they are very damaging.

If your roof’s area is 1,200 square feet (30 x 40 feet), then 1 inch of rain equals more than 700 gallons! You can harvest this rainwater which otherwise would be lost to runoff.

For more information on upcoming workshops with rain barrels, visit Clean Virginia Waterways.