Rain barrels will soon be put on sale by the Town of Stettler to help preserve and conserve water.
At its regular meeting Jan. 19, town council approved the rain water harvesting program presented by John Keith, director of operational services.
Initially the town will purchase 50 rain barrels for $2,500 and will offer $60 to residents at $60 starting April 1.
“Harvesting rain by use of rain barrels is very common throughout the world and would help us to reduce municipal demand,” said Keith.
“In order for a rain barrel program to be effective, we need to get a high percentage of the residents utilizing the program.”
“By providing the rain barrels at a low cost, this would increase their use,” said Keith.
“This is the environmentally correct direction to proceed and would probably lead to a greater use of harvested rain water.”
Sales of rain barrels will be made through Heartland Youth Centre, Stettler Child Care, Stettler Public Library and Stettler Regional Board of Trade and Community Development, with a $10 profit for each barrel sold by the group.
Town wells decommissioned
Council approved a staff recommendation to decommission three unused town wells from the water distribution system while council directed staff to consult with Alberta Environment to determine what they could be used for.
“Before we totally cut them off, we should check with the County of Stetler and Alberta Environment to see if there is any valuable use for these wells,” said Mayor Richards.
Currently the wells do not meet government standards.
“As of Dec. 31, 2009, we are in contravention with Alberta Environment unless we submit a plan as to whether we intend to continue use or abandon,” said John Keith, director of operational services, discussing the issue with council.
“I see no value to use them because it takes 24 hours to prepare the wells before we can start pumping.”
He estimated that it would cost about $5,000 to start up a well.
Council members suggested that the wells may be useful for agricultural purposes and for firefighting.
However, longtime councillor Redford Peeples said that it would be best to abandon the wells considering the tough provincial regulations of Alberta Environment.
