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4 Utah cities now offering rain barrels to residents at $40 each

Posted at 12:21 PM, Jul 21, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-21 14:21:49-04

MURRAY, Utah - A few Utah mayors are taking steps to fight the drought; four cities are now selling rain barrels to conserve water.

The Utah Rivers Council is encouraging all who can to purchase one.

Rain barrel - Courtesy: Utah Rivers Council

Rain barrel - Courtesy: Utah Rivers Council

Each barrel will hold 50 gallons of water and has a mosquito-proof screen.

The barrels are child-proof and are easy to connect to a garden hose.

Sandy, Murray, Park City and Ogden are now selling the barrels at $40 each to residents.

According to the Utah Rivers Council, 70 percent of residents' water use is spent outside their homes on lawns and gardens.

Officials said urban Utahns have the highest water use per person in the U.S.

"I'm using about five to six gallons a day of culinary water, which has things in it which aren't necessarily the best for my plants," Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan said. "This is pure rain water; this is much better water for those uses as well as saving 50 gallons of water every time we use it."

If you don't live in one of the four cities, you can also get a rain barrel but it will cost you $75 instead of $40.

Click here to order a rain barrel and to get more information