Latest news with #rainwater
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
The Panel with Ed Amon and Madison Burgess-Smith Part 2
Photo: 123RF Tonight on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Ed Amon and Madison Burgess-Smith. This half hour the panel hears about the ins and outs of collecting rainwater for drinking and why your council may not approve and they talk to Trevor Goodin, an Oamaru business man who has stepped up to provide a shuttle hospital service for the needy.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
'Manage what the good Lord gave us'
FAIRMONT — While capturing rainwater to water plants is nice, the City of Fairmont's stormwater crews are handing out 25 rain barrels for a much deeper reason. 'The thought is getting water to infiltrate into the ground, which lowers the amount of water that's going into the streams, which lowers erosion, so there's less sediment and silt in the stream,' John Carson, the City's Water Utility Manager, said. 'It's about cleaning up the streams and watching hot spots like the salt sheds and stuff.' City officials will hold a seminar May 30 in Palatine Park to educate residents about the importance of keeping rainwater from flowing into the river and managing pollution. At the event, officials will also hand out rain barrels to residents for the purpose of diverting rainfall from their gutter downspouts into the barrels. Mike Bragg, the city's wet weather manager, said the event is usually well attended and all the barrels are taken by the end of the seminar. 'It's first, come first served,' Bragg said. 'I've got 25 barrels. Come up into it if you want to. You've got people calling and registering ahead. If you want to give me a call and I'll reserve your barrel for you. If you just show up and I've got barrels left over, we'll put your name on the list and hand them out.' The rain barrel program is part of managing an MS-4, or Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection defines an MS-4 as a water conveyance or system of conveyances that are owned by a state, city, town, village or public entity that discharges to the waters of the US. It's designed to collect or convey stormwater and is not a combined sewer and not part of a sewage treatment plan. The point of MS-4 systems is to prevent stormwater from washing harmful pollution into waterways. Carson showed a before and after photo of the Monongahela River prior to when the city started work to clean it up. Carson said the water was absolutely disgusting. After a stormwater management program was developed for the waterway, fish could live in it again. 'The theory of it is, it helps eliminate water discharging into the streams and things so you can conserve that water and give the homeowners the ability to store water instead of using city potable water to water their plants and gardens with,' Carson said. Carson added the amount of water the barrels retains is little, but it's a good opportunity for public outreach and education. Keeping the river's water quality clean is important to the city. 'What Fairmont's trying to do with a lot of investments into our parks and our recreation, we're really trying to add access to river points. Thinks like kayak drops or fishing piers, especially as we're developing the rail trail along the riverside,' Communications Manager David Kirk said. 'Little things like this where we can inform people on keeping the rivers and streams clean, it creates an environment more conducive to these broader things of river recreation we're trying to tap into in Fairmont.' Above all, no one likes a dirty river. Or dead fish and fishing is fun, relaxing sport. 'You guys who like to fish, you understand the importance of clean streams,' Carson said. 'We're here to manage what the good Lord gave us in this area and make it clean. That's what we're here for.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
'Manage what the good Lord gave us'
FAIRMONT — While capturing rainwater to water plants is nice, the City of Fairmont's stormwater crews are handing out 25 rain barrels for a much deeper reason. 'The thought is getting water to infiltrate into the ground, which lowers the amount of water that's going into the streams, which lowers erosion, so there's less sediment and silt in the stream,' John Carson, the City's Water Utility Manager, said. 'It's about cleaning up the streams and watching hot spots like the salt sheds and stuff.' City officials will hold a seminar May 30 in Palatine Park to educate residents about the importance of keeping rainwater from flowing into the river and managing pollution. At the event, officials will also hand out rain barrels to residents for the purpose of diverting rainfall from their gutter downspouts into the barrels. Mike Bragg, the city's wet weather manager, said the event is usually well attended and all the barrels are taken by the end of the seminar. 'It's first, come first served,' Bragg said. 'I've got 25 barrels. Come up into it if you want to. You've got people calling and registering ahead. If you want to give me a call and I'll reserve your barrel for you. If you just show up and I've got barrels left over, we'll put your name on the list and hand them out.' The rain barrel program is part of managing an MS-4, or Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection defines an MS-4 as a water conveyance or system of conveyances that are owned by a state, city, town, village or public entity that discharges to the waters of the US. It's designed to collect or convey stormwater and is not a combined sewer and not part of a sewage treatment plan. The point of MS-4 systems is to prevent stormwater from washing harmful pollution into waterways. Carson showed a before and after photo of the Monongahela River prior to when the city started work to clean it up. Carson said the water was absolutely disgusting. After a stormwater management program was developed for the waterway, fish could live in it again. 'The theory of it is, it helps eliminate water discharging into the streams and things so you can conserve that water and give the homeowners the ability to store water instead of using city potable water to water their plants and gardens with,' Carson said. Carson added the amount of water the barrels retains is little, but it's a good opportunity for public outreach and education. Keeping the river's water quality clean is important to the city. 'What Fairmont's trying to do with a lot of investments into our parks and our recreation, we're really trying to add access to river points. Thinks like kayak drops or fishing piers, especially as we're developing the rail trail along the riverside,' Communications Manager David Kirk said. 'Little things like this where we can inform people on keeping the rivers and streams clean, it creates an environment more conducive to these broader things of river recreation we're trying to tap into in Fairmont.' Above all, no one likes a dirty river. Or dead fish and fishing is fun, relaxing sport. 'You guys who like to fish, you understand the importance of clean streams,' Carson said. 'We're here to manage what the good Lord gave us in this area and make it clean. That's what we're here for.'
The Sun
06-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
I love being a cheapskate – I only drink tea at work as it's free and use rain water to flush my loo to save on my bills
A FRUGAL mum has shared the five ways she cuts costs in her day-to-day life. From stocking up on free food, to never drinking tea at home, the 32-year-old has saved so much money she is now mortgage-free. 2 As a self-described 'cheapskate,' she revealed five habits that stop her spending. Taking to social media, she said: "Here's 5 things I did today as a cheapskate to either save me money or stop me spending money." She revealed she woke up and headed out straight away to pick up a bag of free food through the Olio app. The savvy woman managed to pick up some bread, fruit and salad which she used to make an egg sandwich with the eggs her chicken laid. To add to her income, she also sold items on Vinted but refused to fork out for packaging, instead using boxes or bags she had lying around her home. She also revealed she bought some period pants to save on buying sanitary products every month. "It's one of those sustainable swaps I'd been putting off because it costs money to buy them in the first place," she added. The frugal woman also revealed that her loo was currently broken and wouldn't flush, so she had to use a bucket of rain water to get it working. "Of course the cheapskate in me loves this because we're not using paid-for water to flush the toilet, we're using rainwater," she added. And last but not least, the money-saving fanatic revealed that she never buys tea or coffee at home and waits until she is at work to have one as the company pays for it. I used cheap Temu tiles to get a herringbone bathroom while saving for a reno - they're good as new 4 months later She added: "Now that I'm at work I'm taking full advantage of the free coffee, I've said before I don't drink tea or coffee or anything other than water when I'm at home but when I'm at work and it's free I might as well." The clip was shared on her TikTok account @ diaryofacheapskate and went viral with over 435k views and 12k likes. People were quick to take to the comments and many claimed the mum had gone overboard with her frugal lifestyle. One person wrote: "You work and you have an extra income. Yes olio is for all but someone might genuinely have nothing and that bag of food could have gone to someone less fortunate than yourself!" Here's how to cut the cost of your grocery shop SAVING on your shop can make a big difference to your wallet. Here are some tips from about how you can cut the cost of your shopping bills: Write yourself a list – Only buy items that you need. If it isn't on your list, don't put it in the trolley Create a budget – Work out a weekly budget for your food shopping Never shop hungry – you are far more likely to buy more food if your tummy is rumbling Don't buy pre-chopped veggies or fruit – The extra they'll charge for chopping can be eye watering Use social media – follow your favourite retailers to find out about the latest deals Be disloyal – You may want to go to different stores to find the best bargains Check the small print – It's always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you're making a like for like decision as a bigger box won't necessarily mean you get more Use your loyalty cards – Don't be afraid to sign up to them all. They all work slightly differently – work out what bonus suits you better and remember to trade in your points for additional rewards Another commented: 'Why won't you drink tea or coffee at home? We're allowed a little treat you know." "If it involves a water bucket for the toilet, you know you're pushing it too far," penned a third. Meanwhile a fourth said: "May this lifestyle never find me." "Wowza, this would send me insane,' claimed a fifth. Someone else added: 'This isn't living."
