A new study released by the Insurance Bureau of Canada shows that rain barrels offer an old-fashioned solution to the modern problem of increasing water damage.

As part of the Stratford Rain Barrel Study, IBC distributed close to 1,000 rain barrels to Stratford families living in detached homes. The rain barrels were installed under roof downspouts to capture water during rainstorms and relieve pressure on the storm water system.

As extreme weather events increase in severity and frequency, storm water and waste water systems in Stratford are becoming overburdened. In the past, these systems have exceeded capacity during major storms, which has resulted in overflows and flooding in homes.

"IBC is committed to helping Canadian communities build resiliency to help make sure they are strong, livable and healthy," said Amanda Dean, Vice-President, Atlantic, IBC. "The Stratford rain barrels had the capacity to reduce the flow rate to the treatment plant by as much 4.5%. This is great news."

Recent inflow and infiltration studies by the Town of Stratford indicate that excess storm water infiltration into the town's waste water system is one of the contributing factors to overloading the waste water treatment plant and hindering proper plant operations. Thus there is a need to direct more storm water away from the town's waste water treatment system.

Although it is difficult to measure actual reduction to the waste water system, a reduction of 4.5% flow into Stratford's waste water treatment plant would be very significant to daily operations.

Families in Stratford are eager to share their rain barrel experiences. Kevin Reynolds, development officer with the Town of Stratford and proud community resident, said, "It just makes sense to use rain barrels rather than use the municipal water system. They may seem little but if every person does something little, it's a huge change in the community."

Dean called the results of the study "modest but critical," as even small reductions can make the difference necessary to prevent a storm water system from overflowing.