The Lexington Countywide Stormwater Consortium typically holds two or three Build Your Own Rain Barrel workshops annually. During 2020 some adjustments needed to be made to that schedule. The first workshop that was scheduled for March 20, 2020 hosted by the Town of Irmo was abruptly put on hold just four days prior to the workshop when Lexington County offices were locked down due to COVID-19. All the participants who had paid to be in the workshop were sadly told that the workshop would be postponed until further notice. It wasn’t until August 14, 2020 when that workshop was able to be held with a maximum of 20 participants who were required to follow social distancing guidelines and to wear masks. This event was not advertised because while there was a small drop-out from the original participant list, there were just enough paid participants to fill the 20 spots. Everyone adhered to the rules and went home with a rain barrel to use to harvest rain water for use in their homes and gardens. The photos at the top of this post and below show the slight adjustments that were made to enable this in-person event to take place.
The success of the workshop in August led to another Build Your Own Rain Barrel scheduled on October 23 hosted by the Town of Lexington in their Utilities facility located on Bruner Road. Again, COVID-19 precautions were in place, and a successful workshop with a capacity of 25 participants was able to be held. This workshop filled up within two days of being advertised on social media, and resulted in a waiting list for workshops that may be scheduled in 2021. The Lexington Countywide Stormwater Consortium holds these workshops because they enable the public to become more aware of the pollutant reducing aspect of rain harvesting using a rain barrel. Pollutants that will not harm plants but that negatively affect our waterways are captured in stormwater runoff that comes from rooftops and is directed into a rain barrel below. Therefore harvesting rain is not only an economical use of water, it also helps to reduce the load of pollutants that enter our waterways through the storm drainage system when it rains. Photos below are from the October 23 rain barrel workshop.
In January of 2021 Lexington County Administrative Offices are again operating with a reduced number of staff daily due to the increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. Once the numbers improve, scheduling of workshops conducted by the Lexington Countywide Stormwater Consortium will resume. Opportunities will be posted on this website under Upcoming Events and on the Lexington County website under Recent News as well as on the Community Development / Land Development page of the County website. Keep looking on the Lexington County Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites for announcements of future rain barrel workshops.
