Area residents who want to prepare for a potential repeat of last year’s heavy rainfalls may want to attend a storm water management presentation April 30 in Latrobe.

Set for 1 p.m. in the city council chambers, the Westmoreland Conservation District program will offer strategies homeowners can consider to address storm water problems on their properties.

Officials in neighboring municipalities are co-sponsoring the presentation, according to Michael Gray, Latrobe’s interim city manager. It will explain steps property owners can take, such as planting a rain garden, installing rain barrels and replacing solid paved walkways, patios or driveways with permeable materials, he said.

Presenter Kathy Hamilton, a landscape architect and storm water technician with the conservation district, said the roughly 90-minute program will include time for questions from the audience and distribution of a homeowner’s guide and fact sheets based on the organization’s website, wcdpa.com.

She said the goal is to “help people evaluate what their issues are and give them a brief rundown of what they can use to solve their storm water issues.”

Hamilton said her talk covers do-it-yourself tactics owners can employ, but she noted all properties are different and acknowledged some drainage problems might require the help of a landscape contractor.

In general, she said, “You try to capture (water) and use it in the landscape and then allow it to safely pass through.”

Native plants are preferred choices when planting a rain garden to capture and absorb storm water, Hamilton said. “They’re acclimated to the amount of rainfall and sunlight and the types of soils we have, and they’re good for the bugs and birds and the bees,” she said.

Given the uncharacteristically heavy rains, Hamilton said, her office fielded 150 calls for help last year, up from the average of about 50.

“The rain definitely ramped things up a bit last year,” she said. “Nothing dried up. Everybody’s usual little problems became big issues.”

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