Fenelon Residents Getting “Ready for the Rain”

April showers may bring May flowers, but they can also put stress on local sewer systems and roads. Fenelon residents are getting ready this year with free rain barrels. Some 100, 50-gallon barrels were distributed to residents of Fenelon Falls last Saturday at Handley Lumber on a first come, first served basis.

Residents had to be on town sewers in the village of Fenelon Falls to receive a barrel.

A project of the Fenelon Falls Horticultural Society working with Ward 3 Councillor Mike Perry, the barrels were paid for by The Kawartha Group, MDM Developments, and TD Consulting Inc. Handley Lumber provided the barrels at cost. Perry explains that the main goal of the project was to help relieve storm pressure on the Fenelon sewer system. “Intense rain showers can stress the capacity of our sewer system here in town. We local residents can take action to help,” he notes.

The City of Kawartha Lakes has been working to identify and reduce storm water inflow and sewer infiltration including in Fenelon Falls. Waste water operations at the City has recently approved to flush and camera the town’s sewers this spring. Meanwhile, local residents are encouraged to use rain barrels and disconnect any rain drainage from their sewer connection, if they are joined together.

“In addition to helping reduce the risk of sewer backup and helping our roads, using rain barrels has environmental and household financial benefits,” notes FFHS President Gail Henderson. These benefits include saving money on water bills, improving local water quality, keeping plants, creeks and rivers healthy, and reducing erosion and flooding.

The FFHS is planning to distribute more barrels in the near future.