For the last several years, we have experienced an uptick in the severity of the storms hitting our area.

Heavy rains mean an increase in erosion due to flooding and stormwater runoff.The problem is compounded by the percentage of land covered with impervious surfaces like roads, driveways and buildings.Stormwater runoff also carries water soluble residues from road salt, fertilizers and pesticides into our streams and lakes.Landowners, citizen scientists, and community groups can do a lot to mitigate this problem through the use of rain gardens and rain barrels. The goal is to filter this excess water and return it to our aquifer.Scout your property for signs of water erosion and trace it back to the source. If a downspout is causing the problem, this is an ideal spot for a rain barrel and a rain garden.The rain barrel reduces the hard impact of the water hitting the ground, and the rain garden captures the water and releases is slowly into the aquifer, cleaning it on the way.Carbon County Master Gardeners can help you design your rain garden and will offer presentations to any community group interested in controlling stormwater runoff.Carbon County Master Gardeners operate a green line Tuesday mornings now through October.Contact the Penn State Extension office at 529 Lentz Train, Jim Thorpe. Call 570-325-2788 or email

CarbonExt@psu.edu.