Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • May 2, 2012 Ho-Ho-Kus Boy Scout takes on rain barrel education program by Jennifer Crusco Michael Pabian, an Eagle Scout candidate from Ho-Ho-Kus Boy Scout Troop 54, has received the borough council’s official approval to proceed with a plan to bring more rain barrels into Ho-Ho-Kus. At last week’s council meeting, Pabian told the governing body his project had been suggested by borough employee Ruthanne Frank. The goal, he said, is to inform residents about the benefits of using rain barrels and how to install them. Rain barrels are connected to the downspout on a gutter so runoff is deposited directly into a barrel with a spigot at the bottom. Homeowners can fill watering cans at the spigot. Pabian plans to educate homeowners to the point where they will install the rain barrels themselves so the Scout and his volunteers will not be making any potential modifications to residents’ downspouts or siding. Ho-Ho-Kus Mayor Thomas Randall asked Pabian how he planned to inform the public about his project. The Boy Scout said he has considered setting up a stand at the end of the school day help circulate the news. According to information the Scout distributed to the council, the cost of a rain barrel is approximately $70 to $100. However, costs can range up to $200. “I can tell you that I would be a customer,” Councilman Steve Shell told Pabian. “We have water restrictions that limit what you can do.” Shell pointed out that individuals who use rain barrels are not placing further burden on the borough’s wells. After the council approved Pabian’s project, Mayor Randall fielded a question about a waiver to protect volunteers who work with the homeowners. “It’s not a town project; it’s an Eagle project,” Randall said. “You can get a standard waiver.” Contacted after the meeting, Frank said she and Ho-Ho-Kus Water Utility Superintendent James Montag were part of a committee that developed the concept of the rain barrel promotion. The goal, she explained, is to save water, and to encourage the installation of approximately 500 rain barrels this year and next year. Frank said the plan is to continue to educate residents about conservation, which will help reduce the consumption of water from the local water utility. Rain barrels are available locally, she added. Some rain barrels are already in use in the borough. At a public council meeting in August 2011, Ho-Ho-Kus resident Bonnie Weller said she uses rain barrels at her property. She noted that people with rain barrels are free to tend their gardens with the water they have collected whenever they like. Those who do not use rain barrels or water from private wells are subject to the borough’s water regulations. Water use has become an increasingly important issue in Ho-Ho-Kus. The bor- ough exceeded its water allotment in both 2010 and 2011, despite the municipality’s efforts to tighten watering regulations. The borough also approved an ordinance that includes tougher penalties for those who violate local watering rules. Ultimately, however, the state fined the borough for excessive use. Earlier this year, Ho-Ho-Kus officials formally asked the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to consider an increase in the borough’s water allocation, which currently allows the borough’s water utility to pump one million gallons per day.