Whether or not it's raining, Rachel Napolitano, marketing coordinator and engagement specialist at the Bellaire-Puritas Development Corporation (BPDC), fields requests for rain barrels.

"Even on the coldest winter day, someone will call about a rain barrel," she says. "We get phone calls all year round—and every day it rains."

While those requests won't reserve a barrel, Napolitano makes sure people inquiring about the program get information and an application as soon as the city announces it, which has been every spring for the last seven years. She estimates that they’ve distributed 156 barrels in the Bellaire-Puritas neighborhood since the program's inception.

"It's kind of gone viral the old-fashioned way—a grass roots sort of viral," says Napolitano. People will see the barrel in their neighbor's yard. First they get curious and ask about it; and then they get jealous. That's when they call the BPDC.

The barrels for the 2015 season arrived last week. Before they had all 30 unloaded, 21 were already spoken for.

"People in the neighborhood are passionate about a lot of things. We have nice yards here. People have really robust and humungous gardens," says Napolitano, adding that some nurture flowers; others opt for vegetables and, of course, some plant both.

Furthermore, other residents understand that stopping water from entering storm sewers is always a good thing, particularly amid the Chevy branch of the Big Creek, which runs through the Bellaire–Puritas neighborhood. It has a history of overflowing into the street and storm sewers and causing flooding.

"Even if they're not going to garden, they value keeping water in that barrel during a storm event instead of having it discharge into the street and perhaps contribute to a flooding problem," says Napolitano. "They like saving money on water bills as well."

Residents use the non-chlorinated rainwater to water gardens and lawns, but Napolitano has another suggestion for its use.

"Your hair turns out the shiniest if you wash it in rain water," she says.

The City of Cleveland employs local youths to assemble and install the rain barrels. The BPDC makes it even easier, sending out their own handypersons to install Oatey Mystic downspout diverters, which are manufactured right in the neighborhood at 4700 West 160^th Street. The entire program is cost-free for residents.

Napolitano most enjoys meeting the residents, seeing their gardens and hearing their garden stories. The pro-rain barrel set includes immigrants, long-time residents and people from other parts of the country.

"The interest cuts across a lot of demographics," says Napolitano. "It's a great way to get to know residents, especially the people who really care about conservation."

Aside: The Oatey Mystic diverter was born in 2009, when the city approached Oatey about developing, designing and manufacturing a rainwater diverter specifically for its rain barrel program. The diverters became so popular; Oatey now sells them throughout the United States and Canada.