Dover, DE -(Ammoland.com)- DNREC’s YouTube Channel this week premieres a video highlighting the importance of using water wise techniques around the home to help improve water quality.
The “DIY Rain Barrels” video explains why stormwater runoff is a big problem for Delaware and focuses on a low-cost technique for building a rain barrel with a kit from a local home improvement store, by using a water-tight container such as a plastic drum or curbside trash can.
“DIY Rain Barrels” delves into how the barrels handle potential runoff by storing rain water for times when it’s needed for productive use. Collected water can later be applied to gardens and absorbed by beneficial vegetation and the soil below it.
What is a rain barrel?
A rain barrel is a container that collects and stores the water from roofs and downspouts for future uses such as watering lawns, gardens, and house plants; cleaning off gardening tools; and washing your car.
Rain barrels help to lower your water bills, particularly in the summer months by collecting thousands of gallons of water a year that homeowners don’t have to buy. Rain barrels are also important for our environment because they help reduce water pollution by decreasing the amount of stormwater runoff reaching our streams and rivers. The average rainfall of one inch within a 24-hour period can produce more than 700 gallons of water that run off a typical house.
While it’s running from our homes and lawns, stormwater picks up anything on the ground such as litter, excess fertilizer, pet waste, and motor oil and transports it to storm drains that do not treat the water before it goes directly into our waterways.
This effort supports Governor Markell’s Clean Water for Delaware’s Future initiative– a comprehensive plan for cleaning up Delaware’s bays, rivers and streams so they meet water quality standards for drinking, swimming and supporting fish and other aquatic life. The plan accelerates a wide range of clean water projects that protect public health and safety, improve water quality, increase the resiliency of Delaware’s communities to storms and flooding, support our multi-billion dollar tourism and agriculture industries, create jobs and bolster the economic revitalization of our towns and cities.
Vol. 44, No. 196
About The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
The mission at DNREC is to protect and manage the state’s vital natural resources, protect public health and safety, provide quality outdoor recreation and to serve and educate the citizens of the First State about the wise use, conservation and enhancement of Delaware’s Environment.