Rain Barrel Guide
Rainwater has been collected for centuries. Nearly 2,000 years ago, people in Thailand were collecting water in simple clay pots. Today, the same practices are being carried out with rain barrels.
Because we do not have an infinite amount of water, and because of the rising cost of municipal water, it’s more important than ever to start saving water. Not only does it save money overall, but it helps contribute to saving our natural resources. Many people believe that water is an infinite resource; in fact, water is becoming more and more scarce. Underground aquifers that provide water are being heavily mined, and there is not enough water to replace it. With a rain barrel, you can stop using municipal water sources and start saving the environment!
This guide is intended to educate and explain the benefits of rain barrels. Read on to learn how you easy and valuable a rain barrel can be.
Why Collect Rain?
Over seventy percent of the Earth is covered by water, yet only 2.5% is fresh water (the rest is ocean salt water). And out of that, most of it is found inside glaciers and ice caps. Oh, the irony! The fresh water that is purified and pouring out of your sink everyday is found in freshwater streams, lakes and rivers. And due to desertification and contamination, much of that water is threatened. With such little usable water available, it is even more critical that water be saved.
As a result of our depletion of natural resources, conserving water decreases the demand for domestic water from those rivers and lakes. Residential irrigation can use up to forty percent of the area’s water. By using rain barrels, you not only help contribute to saving water and therefore the environment overall, but you save money personally! If you live in an especially rainy area, collecting rainwater with a rain barrel can save you a surprising amount on your water bill. Even if you live in an area without much rain, the few times during the year it does rain can help later during the hotter, drier months. Or if you live in a rural area with a well, you may find that a rain barrel helps harvest rainwater much easier. Of course, once someone sees how something helps, momentum can pick up. If you start harvesting rainwater in a rain barrel, the idea can catch on in your community, thereby saving everyone water. Since all of us (humans, animals and plants) need water to survive, you are helping everyone out!
Rainwater can be used in a variety of ways. Most people tend to use it in their garden, where they can just pour the water directly onto the flowers and grass and more. Although you can drink rainwater, it takes special filtering treatment to do so. Additionally, many cities require the water drinking system to be a certified filtration system, and that the water is tested regularly. Harvesting rainwater for your garden is beneficial to the garden, since rain is a natural soft water without minerals, chlorine or other chemicals. Your garden, in turn, will continue to grow and thrive in appreciation for giving it natural ingredients.
How-To Collect Water
Collecting water differs depending on the system used. Some are more advanced, involving pumps and flow controls, while others simply catch all the rain they can.
The first thing to measure is your roof catchment area, or the total square feet of your house plus your eaves. Rain falls evenly everywhere, so the shape of your roof does not matter, just the space it encompasses and the surrounding area. Measure the area of the outside walls, and then add the overhand of any eaves. For example, a house that measures 42x 48 feet with 2-foot eaves means you add 4 feet to each wall for a total measurement of 46x52 feet. Then multiply the length times the width (46 times 52) to find the total roof catchment area (in this case, it’s 2392 sq ft).
So what does this mean? For every inch of rain that falls in 1,000 square feet of your catchment area, there is up to 600 gallons of rainwater. Four inches of rainfall means there are 2,400 gallons of rainwater you can collect! Let’s round up our example house to 2400 square feet. This means that this house could catch up to 1440 gallons (since you multiply 600 gallons times 2.4). Think of how much you’ll have saved and added to your water supply just by using a rain barrel!
Harvesting systems are not 100% accurate; most of the time, they fall between 70-90%, since all harvesting systems are going to lose some rainwater due to gutters spilled, wind or evaporation. However, it’s still quite an improvement from zero!
Rain Barrels
Now that you know how much you can save, it’s easy to see why a rain barrel is such a great investment. Of course, you want to figure out the best kind of harvesting system for yourself.
Choosing a barrel depends on how much you can spend, how much space you have, and the type of barrel. Any rain barrel you choose should have a food-grade container that holds liquid. For those that think a trashcan will work just fine will learn that it cannot stand water pressure for very long. This does not mean you need to choose the most expensive rain barrel, but don’t try to cut back and save money by using an inferior piece of equipment.
If you’re on a budget or don’t have much space, put a rain barrel under a gutter downspout to save water. A smaller rain barrel is probably the best way to go, since you don’t want a giant one that will take up too much space. For a more complex system, connect several rain barrels with PVC pipes or hoses, and pump the water directly into the garden to drain all the rain barrels at once.
Where you put your rain barrel is crucial, since you want to collect as much rainwater as possible. Place it on ground that is level, because when it reaches its maximum capacity, it will be considerably heavier and can tip over on unstable ground. Keep an eye on the barrel when it’s raining to check for overflow, or when you leave for a period of time, since overflow can run over and damage your home’s foundation. Many rain barrels feature overflow apparatuses that divert the water away from the foundation.
If you live in a colder climate, disconnecting rain barrels during the winter is a good idea to avoid water constantly thawing and freezing. The construction of the rain barrel can weaken or crack, so keep it out of the cold and store it upside down to keep it clean until it starts raining.
Rain barrels on the market today offer all sorts of handy attachments or special parts that make harvesting your rainwater even easier. Spigot, overflow fittings, automatic overflow, and drain plugs are just a few. Again, depending on how rainy the area you live in is you can choose from smaller sized barrels to ones that store over fifty gallons of water. Whatever rain barrel you choose, make sure it has a cover and can fit in your backyard.
Safety
Two rules must always be followed when it comes to harvesting rainwater: never leave your barrel uncovered, and never use an open container to collect rainwater. Always cover you barrel in between uses. This way, it won’t get dirty with leaves or yard debris and will avoid becoming contaminated. Also, any system you use should come with some kind of filter, such as a screen, to keep out silt, soil and leaves.
Not only do you want to keep your water clean, but you also want to be safe. Be careful with rain barrels and small children. Some rain barrels are massive, and children can drown in just a few feet of water. Plus, animals (both domesticated and wild) can become trapped and drown in the barrels. Moreover, standing water is home to swarms of mosquitoes. Since the West Nile virus is growing and mosquitoes are generally unwelcome creatures, extra precautions must be taken to keep mosquitoes away from rain barrels, such as emptying water within ten days or buying a rain barrel with a mesh screen.
Some containment, unfortunately, in bound to happen. Leaves, dust, and the elements in general will affect the water. It’s fine to use on your garden, since that water would fall on those plants anyhow, but in order to drink it, you will absolutely need a good filtering system. Older roofs with tar and gravel are going to have too much contamination for harvesting water. Gutter systems can also prevent you from harvesting rainwater, since many of them have lead-based paints. If your unsure of how much pollution is in your area, go talk to someone at your city hall or a municipal official about how many pollutants are in the area and how it may affect the quality of the rainwater.