Conservation planners in McCracken County recently organized a whimsical arts and crafts project in order to put a spin on sustainable water practices. The Artistic Rain Barrel Partnership Project was initiated with the help of talented high school students. With skillfully crafted designs, rain barrels were painted and transformed in order to draw attention and commitment to the use of rain barrels within the community. Rain barrels can save most homeowners approximately 1,300 gallons of water during the peak summer months. Relying more heavily on rain barrels will assist in the reduction of the amount of water entering the County’s inundated storm water system. The project was sponsored to help meet Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Permit requirements of public education and outreach, public involvement, and good housekeeping and pollution prevention.
Fun fact: Derby Day is often synonymous with gardening season in Kentucky. So it’s that time of year again, along with a few suggestions for decorative container planting! First, you’ll want to start with a minimum (12-inch) diameter container. A mistake would be to put too many plants in too small a container. Allow enough room for them to grow. Plant one variety per container and mix-and-match the containers. For the planting mix, it’s important to get it right so you’ll have a successful planting experience and plush garden. You may choose to use premixed with slow-release fertilizer that can greatly reduce the toil and improve the quality of your plants. An added advantage is that the slow-release fertilizers result in far fewer nutrients flowing out of the bottom of your container, down the driveway, into the storm sewer and, eventually, right into the local creek.
Important reminder: when was the last time you had your sewer line inspected? A damaged or broken line can cause sewage to leak into the soil, creating a significant risk to the environment with sewage potentially leaking into rivers, lakes and the oceans in certain communities.
