The Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Program now offers rain barrel kits for purchase at select county Extension offices.

These kits can be paired with an HDPE plastic barrel to create a fully functional rain barrel that is ready for installation.

Rain barrels are a relatively inexpensive and easy best management practice that can help to reduce the effects of excess stormwater.

Some of these detrimental effects include flooding, pollution, sedimentation, streambank erosion, and threats to human/aquatic health. These impacts are becoming more common as we increase the amount of development and, as a result, the amount of stormwater.

Rain barrels function by capturing precipitation before it can become stormwater and saving it for a variety of uses at a later time.

More information about the uses and benefits of rain barrels can be found at Rain Barrels: Information and Guide.

These rain barrel kits help simplify creating a rain barrel by providing all the necessary fittings and connectors, except for some essential tools and equipment.

Kits can be purchased from select Master Watershed Steward Programs across the state at local county offices.

The following programs/counties are offering kits at their extension offices: Allegheny, Berks, Cumberland and Franklin, Chester and Delaware, Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon, Elk, Lackawanna and Luzerne, Lehigh and Northampton, Monroe, Susquehanna and Wyoming, Schuylkill, Westmoreland, and York counties

Contact any of the listed extension offices to obtain your rain barrel kit, or contact your local Master Watershed Steward coordinator for more information.

Click Here for this Penn State Extension announcement.

Visit the Penn State Extension website to learn more about many other educational opportunities.

Action Item

-- Private Well Owners Needed For Dept. Of Health Focus Group

Related Extension Articles:

-- PA Master Well Owner Network, Penn State Extension Updates Online Drinking Water Results Interpretation Tool [PaEN]

-- Registration Open! Pennsylvania Groundwater Symposium May 6-7 In Harrisburg [PaEN]

-- Master Watershed Stewards Take Part In Winter Salt Stream Snapshot [PaEN]

-- Rain Barrel Kits Now Available At Select Master Watershed Steward Program Offices [PaEN]

-- Preserving The Farming Legacy With Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program

-- Strategies For Preventing Algae, Aquatic Plant Problems In Farm Ponds

-- Showcase Your Skills At Water Resources Educator Dive Deeper Summit Sept. 25

-- February Celebrates World Wetlands Day

(Reprinted from the latest Watershed Winds newsletter from Penn State Extension.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy (bottom of the page.)

Upcoming Extension Events

March 3-- Penn State Extension Ag Water Series Webinar: Practices To Mitigate Flooding & Drought.  Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 4-- Penn State Extension Webinar On Residential Stormwater Solutions - Rainwater Catchment Systems. Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 5-- Penn State Extension Woods In Your Backyard Series (Part 8 of 9)  - Converting Lawns to Natural Areas (Meadows and Woods). 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

March 6-- Penn State Extension Hosts Lawn To Meadow Conversions Webinar. Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 10-- Penn State Extension Ag Water Series Webinar: Tile Drainage In Pennsylvania. Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 11-- Penn State Extension (7 of 10) Pennsylvania Forests Webinar Seminar Series - Hazard Tree Analysis.  Noon and 7:00 p.m.

March 11-- Penn State Extension Webinar On Lawn Care For Clean Water.  Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 12-- Penn State Extension Woods In Your Backyard Series (Part 9 of 9)  - Putting Your Knowledge To Work - What’s Your Plan?  Map it Out. 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

March 13-- DCNR, Penn State Extension Forest Health, Insect, Disease Update Webinar, 8:30 to 11:00 a.m.

March 17-- Penn State Extension Ag Water Series Webinar: Where Does Water Go?  Watersheds & Mapping. Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 19-- Penn State Extension Hosts Webinar On Green Infrastructure's Many Functions.  Noon to 1:00 p.m. 

March 19-- Penn State Extension Pond Management Series (1 of 4). Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 24-- Penn State Extension Ag Water Series Webinar: Countywide Clean Water Plans - Beyond 2025. Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 26-- Penn State Extension Pond Management Series (2 of 4). Noon to 1:00 p.m.

March 29-- Penn State Extension In-Person Rain Barrel Discovery Workshop, Lebanon County 11:00 to Noon

April 1-3-- Penn State ACAP Ag Conservation Con 2025 - Harrisburg

April 2-- Penn State Extension Pond Management Series (3 of 4). Noon to 1:00 p.m.

April 8--  Penn State Extension (8 of 10) Pennsylvania Forests Webinar Seminar Series - Forest Resilience Scorecard for PA.  Noon and 7:00 p.m.

April 9-- Penn State Extension Pond Management Series (4 of 4). Noon to 1:00 p.m.

April 21-- Penn State Extension In-Person Private Water Supply Education, Water Testing Workshop, Carlisle, Cumberland County, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

April 28, April 29-- Penn State Extension, PA Sea Grant In-Person Educator Workshops On Watershed Literacy & Tree Plantings In Lancaster County

May 6-7-- Pennsylvania Groundwater Symposium, Harrisburg

May 13-- Penn State Extension (9 of 10) Pennsylvania Forests Webinar Seminar Series - Tree Nuts in Pennsylvania.  Noon and 7:00 p.m.

May 13-15-- Save the Date: DCNR Watershed Forestry Summit

June 10-- Penn State Extension (10 of 10) Pennsylvania Forests Webinar Seminar Series - The Use of Slash Walls to Exclude Deer and Regenerate Native Forest Tree Species.  Noon and 7:00 p.m.

September 25-- Penn State Extension Dive Deeper Summit For Water Educators. Harrisburg.

[Posted: February 24, 2025]

3/3/2025