The Florida Governmental Utility Authority (FGUA) is teaming up with the Lehigh Acres Senior Center to help conserve water.
“A lot of folks in Florida actually have private wells, so that really drains our aquifer. So, anything we can do to conserve water and rain in the form of rain, helps to keep our water tables from going dry,” said Donna Lizotte, a community service representative for FGUA.
It's a problem we're seeing right now on our Gulf Coast, especially in Cape Coral.
“I used to live on the Cape, and I have been watching your news this year, and that is not a great situation there,” said Kevin Lavarnway, who painted a rain barrel.
So, seniors are getting together to paint rain barrels to help with water conservation.
“What we do is we have conversion kits that we provide with the barrel. And folks who purchase the barrels at the auction, will tie them into their waterspouts. And so, as it rains, the rain barrel helps to collect that water,” said Lizotte.
Those water conversion kits are key to turning a regular barrel into a rain barrel.
“It comes with like a power saw that you can actually attach to your drill, and you can make a hole at the very bottom of the barrel. You will attach a spigot to that, so that you can utilize the water, and then it comes with an adapter for your rain spout,” said Lizotte.
The water can then be used for so many things around your home.
“Use it for your plants, you can use it to wash your car, your lawn. It's a huge savings on your water bill by repurposing the rain,” said Lizotte.
The money raised from auctioning off the barrels goes to seniors who are struggling to pay their water bills.
“We auction them off and all proceeds go to Lehigh Community Services, which helps seniors who are struggling with their water utility bills,” said Lizotte.
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