SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — An announced partnership between the Utah Rivers Council and twelve municipalities around the state will offer residents the chance to purchase discounted rain barrels to help conserve water as part of the returning RainHarvest program.
With the program, residents in a dozen Utah municipalities can purchase Ivy Rain barrels at a subsidized price of $55 while supplies last. These barrels have a 50-gallon capacity and are made in the U.S. of 100% recycled plastics.
The municipalities that are participating in the program are:
- Millcreek
- Salt Lake County
- Cottonwood Heights
- Murray
- Sandy
- Herriman
- Lehi
- Orem
- Park City
- North Ogden
- Summit County
- Customers of Mountain Regional Water
Residents in these areas who’d like to order discounted rain barrels can do so online here through April. To purchase, a verification process must be completed to ensure a resident is within a participating municipality.
Utahns outside of these municipalities can also purchase these rain barrels for $83, which is still a considerable discount from the American-made rain barrel’s retail price of $139.99.
Overall, the program plans to offer 1,753 discounted rain barrels to Utahns during the 2023 season.
According to the program, water quality is improved by capturing rainwater, as it prevents urban runoff from flowing over streets and gutters, which pollutes local streams and lakes.
Over the last 8 years of the Utah Rivers Council’s RainHarvest program, there have been nearly 8,000 barrels purchased by Utahns. According to estimates by the council, every time it rains enough to fill a 50-gallon barrel, roughly 400,000 gallons of water can be saved from municipal water supplies.
“We’ve saved millions of gallons of water through this program over the last eight years,” remarks Zach Frankel, Executive Director of the Utah Rivers Council. “These twelve municipalities are leading us on a path through this megadrought that all Utahns need to follow. We are grateful to them for their leadership.”
