BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Hundreds of Brevard County residents are helping the Indian River Lagoon by installing rain barrels in their backyards. Rain barrels collect water and reduce stormwater runoff entering the waterway.

Fred Goldstein waters plants at his Merritt Island home every day, but the water he uses doesn’t come from a hose. Instead, a rain barrel.

“It allows you to take the water that typically flows off your roof and out into the yard and stores that, so you can then use it later,” he said.

Goldstein said using a rain barrel has multiple benefits, from helping the environment to saving money.

“You're watering for free instead of using the county water,” he said.

Most importantly, Fred said, it helps to save the Indian River Lagoon. By collecting water, rain barrels reduce stormwater runoff.

“When we get a lot of rain up on our roofs, it comes washing off and it washes onto your lawn,” Goldstein said.

According to the Marine Resources Council, “Within the first inch of rainfall, a 100-square-foot roof will produce 60 gallons of water.” That water can then pick up fertilizers and pollutants and runoff into the lagoon.

“The goal is to try to slow that down and stop it,” Goldstein said. “You keep the grass clippings and the rest of the things, whatever was on the roof, any kind of pollutants or things from ending up going into the lagoon.”

Goldstein and his wife moved to Merritt Island in 2022, and immediately began looking for ways to help the lagoon. They do everything from volunteering to removing debris from the lagoon. 

“It's just part of that overall effort to help the lagoon and improve the ability to restore this beautiful paradise that we live in,” he said.

Goldstein said if you enjoy the waterway, you should help protect it, too. It’s the reason he founded Xplore the IRL, a YouTube channel and podcast that highlights ways to help the lagoon.

“A way to try and help boost knowledge and information about what other groups are doing around keeping the lagoon clean, helping to restore it,” Goldstein said.

He first heard about rain barrels from volunteering at the Marine Resources Council. Now, he’s installed two at his home and made tutorials showing others how they can, too.

“Rain barrels are very simple to install,” he said. “There are a number of different ways you can do it.”

Over the past year, the Brevard County Natural Resources Department has given out over 630 rain barrels to residents. Four Brevard cities are also offering rebates to residents who install rain barrels.  

“You can then use that as a way to fund the cost of these,” Goldstein said. “They’re not very expensive and it's a great way to help your yard and to help the lagoon.”

You can find a list of cities offering rebates on the Marine Resources Council’s website. Goldstein said rain barrels are a simple way to save the Indian River Lagoon, right from your backyard.

“If we want to improve and restore the Indian River Lagoon, everybody has to play a role and we can do simple things,” he said. “One simple thing for those able to do it is put a rain barrel in.”