For Immediate Release
May 1, 2009

Everything old is new again
Barrett suggests it’s time to return to the rain barrel

Simcoe – Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett thinks it may be time to return to the days of rain barrels.

Barrett got the idea from a booklet put together by the Ontario Horticultural Association, in conjunction with the Ontario Mutual Insurance Association.

“I commend these groups for reminding us about a very simple, inexpensive concept, something that we've abandoned over recent years,” Barrett said. “Our grandparents and our great-grandparents used rain barrels to supplement their water supply by putting their collected water where they wanted it for their own use. Today, much of that water goes right into a storm sewer or sits next to the foundation of your house or is pooled in the lawn.”

For every inch of rain that falls on a 1,000 square-foot roof 600 gallons of water can be accrued which can then be used to water the lawn and flowers or even wash the car.

According to Barrett, 40 per cent of the water used during the summer months is used for lawn and garden madintenance.

“…get yourself a $50 rain barrel and you’ll earn that money back in water costs,” Barrett told members of the Ontario Legislature. “It would seem we’ve come full circle if this idea continues to take hold. Very simply, everything old is new again, and in my book, rain barrels make sense.”

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