Thanks to overwhelming local support in a national online voting competition, the team of Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) and the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus has been awarded a $10,000 grant to install a rain garden and water catchment system this fall on the church grounds. The grant is sponsored by River Network, a national nonprofit organization focused on water quality, and MillerCoors.

Rain gardens are specially designed and planted gardens which collect rainwater from roofs and allow it to percolate slowly into the soil, reducing storm water runoff and preventing pesticides, petroleum products and other pollutants from being swept into streams and rivers. This demonstration rain garden and water catchment installation will kick off an outreach campaign to churches, schools, small businesses and public officials, with the goal of activating 10 similar projects by 2012.

A team including FLOW and UU Church members is creating a design for the rain garden and a large catchment cistern for roof runoff on the church’s property at 93 W. Weisheimer Rd in Clintonville. Construction will begin in early September, using local volunteer labor. This will be a great opportunity for community members to learn more about rain garden construction! To help out or to learn more contact , FLOW Soaking It In project coordinator.

Easy Ways to Reduce Water Usage

Toilets are responsible for 25% of household water use. Fix leaking toilets right away, as continuous leaks can waste vast amounts of water. Report leaky toilets in schools, businesses, agencies, your workplace, etc. to responsible persons. If you have an older toilet, reduce the flush volume by lowering the fill lever to its lowest position, or fill a half-gallon plastic jug with water and put it in the tank. Consider replacing older toilets with new models, which are required by law to use 1.6 gal or less per flush.

Faucets Replace faucet washers, valves or fixtures to stop leaks. Installing aerators in faucets can cut water usage in half.

Shower Heads Low-flow shower heads also can cut water use in half.

Washing Machines Newer models use around 25 gallons of water while older models can use twice as much. Buy an energy-star machine. Better models extract more water and reduce drying time considerably.