Rain Barrels – Save Money and Natural Resources with a Rain Barrel

Rain barrels are a great way to save a little money and a little piece of the earth at the same time. You can find some fairly inexpensive rain barrels, or if you are looking for something decorative there are plenty of options to do that as well.

The EPA estimates that the average homeowner can save about 1300 gallons of water during the peak summer months with a rain barrel.

A rain barrel is simply a system to catch rainwater runoff, usually from a homeowner’s roof that is collected through a standard gutter system, and the water is captured in a barrel like a 55 gallon drum that is at the bottom of the downspout of the system. To give an idea of the volume of water that could potentially be collected in a rain barrel, there are about 7.5 gallons in a cubic foot of water. So if you collected the total runoff from a roof with 1000 square feet during a rainstorm of 1 inch, you would have 1000/ 12 or 83 cubic feet of water, or over 600 gallons of water. Now, typically you don’t get the whole roof to drain down a single downspout of a well designed gutter system, but that’s what would be available if you were to capture all of it.

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A typical rain barrel setup has a drum connected to the downspout, a screen grate to keep debris and bugs out, and a hose to disperse the water. Since the water is runoff from the house, it is definitely not potable, but can be used to water the garden or for other grey water uses like flushing the toilet or washing cars, pets, the house, etc. It is unchlorinated and naturally soft, with no minerals, so using it on the garden or lawn is a great choice.

If you try to make your own rain barrel take care to use a container that hasn’t been used to house chemicals or petroleum products. Food grade barrels are the best choice.

There’s a number of choices if you want to purchase a rain barrel. The most popular are simple plastic barrels, that come with the plumbing as part of the kit. Commonly green, these are simply put at the bottom of the downspout. If the rain barrel is going to be visible as part of your landscaping, you may want to try something more decorative. You can find a whole host of choices, including wood finishes, some plastic ones that are finished in many colors. There are some rain barrels that are in a terra cotta color, and a few come with stands to keep them secure. Some are shaped like urns, and a few look like casks. And there is one that has a flower planter built into the rain barrel.

If you expect a large volume of water, or want to store more water, several brands of rain barrels have connecting kits that allow you to connect or cascade 2 or more barrels together under one downspout. And there are a few that are simple pop up barrels that can be stored flat when not in use but hold a good volume of water.

Sizes vary from a small simple 34 gallon barrel, to the standard 55 gallon size, and from there all the way to 155 gallon and 300 gallon barrels.

Keep in mind that standing water can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, so try not to leave the open water unattended for more than a day or so. Cover the water, or be sure that it is stirred or churned regularly.