DEP Joins Council Member Andy King to Distribute Rain Barrels to Homeowners in the Bronx
Rain Barrels Collect Precipitation, Reduce Residential Water Bills and Help to Protect the Health of Local Waterways, including the Bronx River and the Hutchinson River
Photos of the Event are Available on DEP’s Flickr Page
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recenetloy joined Council Member Andy King to distribute rain barrels to approximately 100 homeowners from the Wakefield, Olinville, Edenwald, Eastchester, Williamsbridge, Baychester, and Co-op City neighborhoods of the Bronx. The 60-gallon rain barrels are easy to install and connect directly to a property owner’s downspout to capture and store the stormwater that falls on the rooftop. The water collected in the rain barrel can then be used to water lawns and gardens, or for other outdoor chores. Rain barrels can help reduce a homeowner’s water bill as watering lawns and gardens can account for up to 40 percent of an average household’s water use during the summer months. They also help to reduce the amount of stormwater that enters the City’s sewer system, which helps to protect the health of local waterways, including the Bronx River and the Hutchinson River. Last year, DEP distributed a record-setting 11,111 rain barrels to New York City homeowners. Saturday’s event was held during the 5th Annual 12th Council District Community Engagement Day, in partnership with Fun In the Son NYC, on the football field of Evander Childs Educational Complex in Williamsbridge and the rain barrels were provided free of charge.
“The environmentally-friendly rain barrels we distributed in partnership with Council Member Andy King help promote sustainability while simultaneously saving homeowners both water and money,” said DEP Acting Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “Collecting the stormwater that falls on a home’s roof during rain events helps alleviate pressure on the city’s sewer system, while also reducing street flooding and improving the health of the Bronx River and the Hutchinson River.”
“This was the second year in a row that my office partnered with DEP to giveaway rain barrels at our annual 12th Council District Community Engagement Day event and again it was a great success,” said Council Member Andy King. “A majority of the 12th Council District residents are homeowners who want to harvest rainwater to safeguard their gardens and lawns and keep the sewer pipes from overflowing. This somewhat old-fashion technique also helps save on water bills. You can’t beat that!”
DEP’s Rain Barrel Giveaway Program is part of New York City’s Green Infrastructure Plan that aims to capture stormwater before it can ever enter the sewer system and thereby reduce combined sewer overflows into local waterways. DEP has committed to invest $2.4 billion in green infrastructure projects as well as other source controls, such as rain barrels, to significantly reduce combined sewer overflows by 2030.
The rain barrel program also builds upon DEP’s efforts to conserve water as part of a $1 billion initiative to ensure clean, reliable, and safe drinking water for more than nine million New Yorkers for decades to come. As part of this initiative, DEP has begun a project to repair leaks in the Delaware Aqueduct that supplies roughly half of the city’s daily drinking water. In order to complete these repairs to the Aqueduct, the tunnel must be temporarily shut down in 2022. Ahead of the planned shutdown, DEP aims to reduce citywide water consumption by five percent.
In addition to encouraging homeowners to conserve water, DEP is installing activation buttons on spray showers at 400 playgrounds around the city that will save 1.5 million gallons of water a day during the summer months. Work is also underway to install new, high efficiency fixtures in the bathrooms of 500 City schools to reduce water consumption by nearly 4 million gallons each school day. And, DEP has partnered with hotels, restaurants and hospitals across the city to reduce water use at these facilities by five percent annually.
Installation of rain barrels is easy and they require little maintenance. Each homeowner who received a rain barrel on Saturday was provided with an installation kit and instructions. Rain barrels should only be used for non-potable purposes, such as gardening, and must be disconnected from the downspout during the winter months to avoid freezing.
DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8.5 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $20.7 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year.