Uses the Power of Multiplication
In the City of Wyoming, the total average overflow volume amounts to about 9 million gallons per year. As part of a pilot program to reduce CSOs to the Mill Creek, MSD and the City of Wyoming teamed up to offer Wyoming residents rain barrels at a sharply discounted price. Rain barrels help manage stormwater runoff by cutting down on the amount of runoff entering the storm sewer system. While one rain barrel may not have a great impact, the installation of many can help reduce the regional combined sewer overflow problem. For example, a 1,000-square-foot roof can generate 24,600 gallons of runoff a year. Multiply this by a thousand homes, and the runoff volume climbs into the millions of gallons.
In June 2010, 206 rain barrels were sold to property owners. Roughly half the property owners purchased more than one barrel. MSD is working on how to verify that rain barrels were installed and to quantify the volume of rooftop runoff captured by the rain barrels.