Members of the Roseville City Council and Department of Public Services pose for a picture with residents Dawn Bielawski, fourth from left, and Samantha Russell, third from right. In between Bielawski and Russell is Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller, whose department headed up the program.
By: Nick Powers | Roseville-Eastpointe Eastsider | Published September 16, 2024
ROSEVILLE — As part of a Macomb County pilot program, interested Roseville residents have begun receiving free rain barrels.
The county’s Public Works Department initiated the program. Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller presented two residents with barrels at a ceremony Sept. 12.
Samantha Russell, a sculptor who moved to the city in February, was one of the residents who received a barrel.
“Well, I love free and I love the environment,” Russell said at the event. “Seeing the city roll out an initiative that helps residents be able to protect the environment is beautiful.”
Dawn Bielawski also received one of the barrels. She’s a freelance editor and small business owner who’s lived in the city since 1996.
“I’m an avid gardener. I like to grow heirloom vegetables and flowers, so I’m really excited to have a rain barrel to help with that and also protect the lakes,” Bielawski said.
Miller said this is a pilot program and part of her department’s work to reduce combined sewer overflows from going into Lake St. Clair.
“Every gallon counts,” she said. “Gallons and gallons and gallons, they all add up.”
She said the county will have to see how things go with Roseville before the program could be rolled out into other communities.
“The response from the residents has been extraordinary and very positive,” Miller said. “Partnering with the city of Roseville has been great.”
The barrels are first going out to residents in a targeted region of the city where combined sewer overflows were a potential issue. At the Roseville City Council meeting where the program was introduced, City Manager Ryan Monroe said the targeted area is between Frazho and 11 Mile roads and between Hayes Road and Gratiot Avenue.
Barrels will continue to go to this region until Oct. 31, according to Roseville Department of Public Services Director Rob DeBruyn. However, those outside the targeted area can be put on a waitlist. At the start of November, the waitlisted residents will start receiving barrels. At press time, the targeted area had received 115 barrels and the waitlist had around 50 residents on it so far.
“It’s going really well. It’s going much better than anticipated,” DeBruyn said. “I did my first inspection of one the other day. It was installed properly and looked great. The resident was really happy.”
The barrels and accessories cost about $190 each with a total cost of $36,000, according to Miller. The project was funded by the Southeast Macomb County Wastewater Disposal System.
Miller said the county purchased 200 rain barrels, which can hold 58 gallons each, for the program. Each kit comes with a barrel, a spigot, brass connectors, Mosquito Dunks to kill mosquito larvae, a stand and attachment parts for the gutter spout. The first 200 barrels are free of charge and only available for Roseville residents, with a limit of one per household.
For more information on the barrels, contact the Roseville Department of Public Services at (586) 445-5470.