AGENDA #5h
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Provision of Rain Barrels
DATE: October 21, 2002
This information report responds to a Council member’s inquiry regarding the feasibility of initiating a program for making rain barrels available to Chapel Hill citizens at cost.
BACKGROUND
On September 9, 2002, a Council member asked the Town Council to consider whether it would be desirable to initiate a program for making rain barrels available to citizens in Chapel Hill, or in the OWASA service area. The inquiry was referred to the Manager for staff research and comment on the feasibility of such a program. Our findings are discussed below.
DISCUSSION
Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) Position on Rain Barrels.
The Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) staff indicates that OWASA has decided not to offer rain barrels for sale to the public. They do not believe that rain barrel use would contribute significantly to drought mitigation and they do not want to be in direct competition with local vendors that are selling rain barrels.
Under “Emergency Water Use Restrictions”, all outdoor uses of treated water are prohibited; therefore, according to OWASA, the use of rain barrels has no impact on further reducing treated water usage. In fact, OWASA staff report that the use of rain barrels may actually have a minor, probably insignificant, negative impact due to the fact that they intercept water that would otherwise contribute to reconstitution of reservoirs and the ground water aquifer. From the OWASA point of view, the primary advantage of rain barrel use is that it gives the homeowner an opportunity to provide some minimal level of outdoor watering of plants during emergency water use restrictions.
OWASA provided the following response to our inquiry on this subject:
“OWASA has not chosen or planned to sell rain barrels, but to our knowledge they are available locally at Dickinson’s Garden Supply and Southern States.
Because the drought and water use restrictions presumably have affected plant sales, the sale of rain barrels at these businesses could well be important to them during this difficult period. Under these circumstances and since private businesses are responding to the community demand for rain barrels, it could be regarded as unnecessary or inappropriate for a public entity such as OWASA to sell them.
On September 26th, the OWASA Board of Directors adopted a resolution which in part encourages citizens to catch and use rainwater for suitable purposes.”
Local Availability and Cost of Rain Barrels. The OWASA website provides information on the availability of rain barrels from local vendors. We have also found that rain barrels are readily available from several internet websites, including www.urbangardencenter.com, www.gardeners.com, www.plowhearth.com, www.rainbarrel.net, www.tank-depot.com, and www.plastictanks.ca. Prices for these products range from $80 to $130, depending upon size, quality and accessories provided. For those citizens who are unable to complete the rain barrel installation themselves, we estimate the additional cost of hiring someone modify a downspout and install the rain barrel to be on the order of $75. On the average, we estimate the total project cost for buying and installing a rain barrel provided by local commercial sources to be about $180.
Rain Barrel Program Funding Source. A revenue-neutral program to provide rain barrels at cost would not require a budget appropriation. We would simply purchase rain barrels using funds from an inventory account and return the revenue from sales to the same inventory account. The indirect costs of materials handling, storage, accounting and revenue collection would be absorbed in the existing operating budget.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend that the Council take no action except to encourage the purchasing of rain barrels from local businesses that have been adversely affected by the drought.