Free rain barrel giveaway in Westport

WESTPORT, Mass. (WPRI) - We recycle lots of things -- how about rain? With most of Southern New England in a severe drought, every drop of rain is precious, which is why one local community is helping residents stop their rain from running off.

How? By giving away free 55-gallon barrels to collect what falls from the sky.

Sixty lucky Westport residents can get rain barrels for free, giving them a recycled supply of water for their lawns and gardens.  But it's not just about water conservation, it's also about avoiding contamination for nearby streams and rivers.

"It's hard to imagine, but you know those flat, hard surfaces, as soon as a raindrop hits it runs off and is accelerated," said Roberta Carvalho of the Westport River Watershed Alliance. "Normally that would just run off into our driveways and paved surfaces, and capture everything that it touches along the way -- gasoline, pollutants, metals."

Who's footing the bill for all of these barrels? Before John F. Healey took over as the Westport Town Administrator, he says the town had failed to submit a storm water management plan to the EPA.

"And they got mad," says Healey. "The EPA decided that they were going to do more than slap our wrist."

Instead, they slapped the town with a $6,000 fine. But, Healey was able to cut a deal. He had the fine reduced to $1,500, if he agreed to use the remaining balance to fund the rain barrel project.

You must be a Westport resident, and you must send an email to the Board of Selectmen to sign up to get a free rain barrel from the town of Westport. Click here for more details.

The rain barrels will be distributed on May 12th.