By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
The rainfall collected in a backyard barrel provides plenty of free water for plants in gardens.
And the water is free of chlorine or other chemicals found in treated water, so plants thrive from it, said Yukon’s stormwater program manager Julie Shannon.
Shannon was in Mustang Saturday helping Mustang workers by distributing rain barrels local residents purchased through the cities’ partnered program.
Shannon helped Mustang planner Morgan Shepard distribute rain barrels at a Saturday event in Mustang.
Mustang and Yukon promote rainwater collection in barrels in the partnership. Yukon had hosted it in the past and Mustang hosted the sale this year.
The barrels come from Chicago where they have been discarded from the food industry and recycled into rain barrels.
The barrels can be used to catch rain and can be used for watering gardens and yards.
“If you use a rain barrel it gets the water into the groundwater instead of just washing down the street and into a stream. If you water with the rain barrel it gets into the groundwater,” Shannon said.
The rainwater is better for plants than water from the hose, she said.
Rain barrels can be elevated off the ground and set under a gutter to capture a lot of water.
The 55-gallon barrels catch a lot of water, she said.
There were 159 rain barrels sold in Mustang at the Saturday event this year.
“Rain barrels usually run about $100 apiece and they were offered for $63.50,” Shannon said.
Rain barrels can be ordered upcycle-products.com
The sale helps with the stormwater program and public awareness for using rainfall collected in barrels, Shannon. More information about the program can be found in Yukon residents utility bills in January.
