WINGHAM, Ontario, May 27 (UPI) -- A pilot project using old-fashioned rain barrels was launched Wednesday in the small Canadian city of Wingham, Ontario, to deal with increasing storm runoff.
Sponsored by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, 1,000 homeowners were given 45-gallon barrels to catch runoff from their roofs to prevent basement flooding and surges in the municipal storm sewer system, a release said.
"The pilot project uses old technology -- the rain barrel -- to deal with a 21st century problem," said bureau Vice President of Public Affairs and Marketing Mary Lou O'Reilly. "By collecting rain water we can hopefully provide some relief to our over-burdened sewer infrastructure which is dealing with ever-increasing amounts of rain water due to changing weather patterns."
The release said the insurance industry has noticed an increase in claims resulting from more severe weather and that natural disaster claims are 20 times higher than they were 30 years ago.
Don Nicholson, chief of water wastewater facilities for the Township of North Huron, said older sewage systems weren't designed for current conditions.
"Years ago, sewer system design was based on weather patterns that predicted intense storms would occur every five years. But these intense storms are now occurring every two years," he said.
