Education & Outreach

Rain Barrels

Keep Our Streams, Rivers and Lake Erie Healthy. Rain barrels are a real solution to water pollution. They reduce runoff, which helps protect our rivers, streams and ultimately Lake Erie from pollution.

Reduce Ponding and Flooding

Rain barrels collect the water from your roof and gutters so it doesn’t puddle in your lawn or contribute to flooding.

Reduce Water Waste

Rain barrels reserve water for when you need it, so you don’t have to turn on the hose to water your plants or lawn.

Save Money

Lawn and garden watering make up nearly 40% of total household water use during the summer. Watering with rainwater can help keep your water bills low, after all it is free water!

We provide everything you need to save water today. Attend a workshop to build your own! The cost of these workshops is determined by the location host, typically $60 or $65. This covers the barrel, diverter and necessary hardware.

Household Habits for Healthy Water

We all live in a watershed (an area of land that drains to a body of water).  In fact, every Lake County resident lives in the Lake Erie watershed.  Your actions on the land directly impact the quality of the river, streams, and lakes that make Lake County unique.  Rainwater and snow melt from your roof, lawn, and driveway, as well as our streets, ditches and parking lots drain to small creeks.  These creeks feed the Grand River, Chagrin River, Arcola Creek, and Euclid Creek, or flow directly into the lake.  Along the way, this water can pick up oil and antifreeze from our cars, fertilizers and pesticides from our lawns, litter, grass clippings, leaves, and pet waste.