Rain barrels offer numerous benefits to Chester County residents and the area environment, including improvement of local water quality. As an enticement to take part in this worthy conservation effort, free rain barrels are available for the asking.

As defined by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, a rain barrel is pretty much what it says it is: a passive means of capturing water from a roof and holding it for use such as on lawns, gardens, indoor plants.

Gathering it is both economical (the water and the barrels are free) and environmentally friendly, helping reserve tap water primarily for cooking, drinking, and cleaning. Furthermore, rain barrel usage eases erosion damage.

The Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light’s Caring for Creation program is providing barrels without charge; applying for one is an online task through the 2023 PA IPL Rain Barrel Request Form.

Rain barrels (one per household) will become available in mid-June. A mandatory training session take places on June 2, with its recorded version sent to those who cannot attend the initial presentation.

The collector giveaways are also occurring in Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

“Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light is a community of congregations, faith-based organizations, and individuals of faith responding to climate change as a moral issue — through advocacy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the use of clean, renewable energy,” said an organization representative.

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A video primer on rain-barrel usage.