Good news for San Marcos residents who want to do their part to solve our urban runoff program.  This Saturday, the City of San Marcos and Vallecitos Water District will be giving away rain barrels—free—at a workshop.  

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Vallecitos Water District’s offices at 201 Vallecitos de Oro in San Marcos.  Space is limited, so to register, call Torrey Webb at 760-744-0460, ext. 238.

Rain barrels can be a great way to tackle two important water issues:  water quality and water supply.  By capturing water, rain barrels reduce the amount of water running off our roof, across our lawns and into the storm drain.  This reduces the total amount of pollution that makes its way into our ocean and waterbodies.  And it also reduces the amount of total water in our creeks during storm events, which reduces hydromodification, which includes devastating erosion of our creeks and waterways.

Rain barrels also address a water supply issue.  By capturing water in rain barrels,  residents can “harvest” the captured water and use it to irrigate their lawn and garden—reducing the amount of water they would otherwise use to irrigate their yards.

The city and the water district planned the workshop as part of long-term requirement to reduce pollution to San Marcos Creek.  The city needs to reduce pollution—including bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus—into the creek by 2021.

San Diego Coastkeeper has been involved in efforts with other stakeholders, including the City of San Marcos and Vallecitos Water District, to address pollution in Lake San Marcos, which was created by the damming of San Marcos Creek. To learn more about efforts to reduce pollution in Lake San Marcos and the Upper San Marcos Creek, click here.