Using Rain Barrels for Water Collection

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Harvesting Rainwater with Rain Barrels, an Old Idea with a New Following

Collecting rainwater for use during dry months in rain barrels or other depositories is an ancient and traditional practice. Historical records show that rainwater was collected in simple clay containers as far back as 2,000 years ago in Thailand, and throughout other areas of the world after that. With the rising price of municipal water and drought restrictions now facing much of the United States during the summer months, more and more homeowners in our own modern society are turning to the harvesting of rainwater to save money and protect this precious natural resource.

50 gal rain barrel recycled olive rain barrel 65 gal rain barrel 80 gal rain barrel 60 gallon rain barrel
Browse 50 to 80 gallon rain barrels at Clean Air Gardening Supply.

It is a common belief in many parts of the world that water is an infinite resource to exploit as needed, but as the saying goes, "you donít know the value of water until the well is running dry." This is especially true in arid parts of the U.S. where most of the municipal water comes from overstressed underground aquifers. Whereas rainwater is considered a renewable natural resource, many aquifers are being "mined," that is, communities are drawing out more water than the aquifer naturally receives to recharge it.

As drought and aquifer mining begin to call attention to an increasing water crisis, people are seeking ways minimize impact on their municipal water supplies. Rain barrels can be part of the solution. Just look outside your window the next time it rains and imagine all the water thatís running down your driveway being put to beneficial use in your home and garden!
The Freshwater Facts

To illustrate how important and how limited a resource freshwater is in our world, consider the following. More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but only 2.5% of this supply is considered fresh water. The rest is found in the form of salt water in the oceans. Of the fresh water that exists, most is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. Water can also be found in the form of clouds and humidity in the soil. That leaves us 3/10 of 1 percent found in the form of lakes, rivers and streams. Unfortunately, much of this small amount of freshwater is in danger of drying up through desertification or becoming so contaminated that it cannot be used for human consumption. Changing our habits of water use can help to abate this growing problem. For more information on world water consumption, you can review this government website.
Why Harvest Rainwater with Rain Barrels?

Besides helping the environment, an obvious reason for harvesting rainwater is to save money. Depending on the size of your house and the amount of rainfall in your area, you can collect a substantial amount of rainwater with a simple system. This extra water can have a significant impact on your water bill. The use of rainwater combined with the domestic use of grey water can further increase your savings. Even if you live in a rural area and have your own well, the fact that rainwater is a naturally soft water may be enough to justify harvesting rainwater. (Keep reading for information on how to calculate the potential volume of rainwater you can collect.)

Rainwater stored in rain barrels has many uses. Some people find it mostly useful for watering their landscapes and gardens. Others find uses within the house as well. Rainwater can also be used for drinking but requires special treatment with a filtration system. Note that many cities require the filtration system for drinking water to be certified and the water to be tested on a regular basis. You do not need a filtration system for landscape uses. You can use it directly from your rain barrel on your garden.

If youíre harvesting rainwater with rain barrels to use for watering your landscaping, the rainwater can help to improve the health of your gardens, lawns, and trees. Rain is a naturally soft water and devoid of minerals, chlorine, fluoride, and other chemicals. For this reason, plants respond very well to rainwater. After all, itís what plants in the wild thrive on!
Rainwater from Rain Barrels Makes Your Garden Smile

Since the rain water is usually collected from the roofs of houses, it picks up very little contamination when it falls. Youíll of course want to keep your roof clean of debris and potential contaminants to maximize purity. The material your roof is made of is also important in how much contamination the water will carry (see Safe Rainwater Harvesting Catchments). The chemicals and hard water from many of our municipal water systems can produce an imbalance in the soil of your garden. Chemical fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides, and drought can also disrupt the balance and harmony of the soil. This imbalance causes trees and plants to weaken and makes them more susceptible to disease.

Trees and plants have an efficient immune system that allows them to fend off diseases and other invaders as long as they have a healthy soil environment and aren't stressed by other factors such as drought. Trees and plants rely on fungus, bacteria, and nematodes to help them absorb the minerals and nutrients they need. Trees and plants depend on a fungal root system called mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae attaches itself to tree and plant root hairs and extends the root hair system.

Mycorrhizae uses some of the plant's energy, but provides the plant with minerals it can't otherwise absorb. In healthy soil, the mycorrhizae of one tree connects with mycorrhizae of other similar trees. When you look at your garden, visualize it as a vast interconnected community of trees, plants and tiny critters that live in the soil, all interacting and affecting each other. Thus, the type of water you use in your garden will affect the health of this intricate community.

And speaking of community, one of the best reasons to start harvesting rainwater with rain barrels is that if you teach and encourage others to do the same, you will help to spread the culture of rainwater collection and in turn help your larger community and the environment. It is always important to remember that every living thing on the planet needs water to survive so we as humans must expand our idea of community to the plants and animals that surround us.

Where do I Start? Collecting Water with Rain Barrels

Harvesting systems can vary from the simple use of barrels aided by the force of gravity to deliver the water, to more advanced systems using cisterns, pumps, and flow controls. There are a few things you can do to find out what kind of rainwater harvesting system is right for you. The information presented in the rest of this website consists of a few simple steps to help you learn about rainwater collection before you buy a rain barrel or water harvesting system.

To get an idea whatís out there on the market, you can check out our page on buying rain barrels. Next, we can help you find out:
How Much Water Can You Collect in Rain Barrels During a Rainfall?

Believe it or not, for every inch of rain that falls on a catchment area of 1,000 square feet, you can expect to collect approximately 600 gallons of rainwater. Ten inches of rain falling on a 1,000 square foot catchment area will generate about 6,000 gallons of rainwater! That's right, 6,000 gallons! More than you were expecting?

Your roof catchment area is equal to the total square feet of your house plus the extension of your eaves. You don't need to consider the angle of your roof, like you would if you were buying roofing material, because rain falls evenly on every part of the roof.

To calculate the square feet of your houseís catchment area, measure the area of the outside walls and then include the overhang of any eaves. For example, letís say you have an oblong house with outside dimensions of 36 feet by 46 feet. Youíve calculated the overhang of your eaves as 2 feet. So, add the 4 feet of the eaves to each wall length (2 eaves of 2 feet equals an additional 4 feet for each wall) to get the total length of the walls plus the eaves (40 by 50 feet).

Now multiply 40 times 50 (length times width) to get your total roof catchment area.

(36 + 4) x (46 + 4) = 2,000 sq ft

Your roof catchment area is thus 2,000 square feet.

Since one inch of rainfall provides approximately 600 gallons of water for a 1,000 square foot catchment area, and our theoretical house has a 2,000 square foot catchment area (twice the area), you will multiply 600 gallons by 2.

600 gal x 2 = 1,200 gallons

If you have an average rainfall of say 20 inches per year, you have the potential to collect 24,000 gallons of water in one year. (You can use the following website to get a good idea of the average rainfall in your area: http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/)

1,200 gal x 20 inches of rain = 24,000 gal

Depending on the needs of your household, that can be significant amount of water to augment your water supply.

You should consider that rainwater harvesting systems aren't necessarily 100% efficient. Most sources estimate efficiency between 70% and 90%. All rainwater harvesting systems lose some of the rainwater. It may spill out of the gutters or the wind may blow it away. Evaporation will undoubtedly affect some of it. To maximize your collection of rainwater, you can use out buildings such as barns or sheds. If youíre creative, you can even use rainwater from a patio or other paved areas around your house.

Browse rain barrels at Clean Air Gardening or Rainsaver 80 Rain Barrels.

Now that youíve got an idea how much water you can collect, we can help you calculate:
How Much Municipal Water Do I Already Use Without a Rain Barrel?

To get an idea of how using rainwater from rain barrels will impact your overall water use, you need to have some idea of how much water you currently use each year without a rain barrel. First off, track down your utility bills if you rely on municipal water. You will need to refer to them for your calculations. If you have your own well, this step will be a bit more complicated, so weíll address it in the next section.

Your utility bills are usually calculated in CCF (The first 'C' represents the Roman numeral C, which equals 100; the second 'C' stands for cubic; the 'F' stands for feet.) One CCF equals 100 cubic feet of water, which is equivalent to 748 gallons.

If, for example, you have used a total of 110 CCF for the year, you can multiply 110 x 748 to determine the number of gallons.

110 CCF x 748 = 82,280 gal

Using our previous calculation of 24,000 gallons of rainwater collected for our theoretical house, if your current use is 82,280 gallons, it may appear that collecting rainwater wouldnít have a significant impact. However, household usage doesnít change much during the year, but landscape usage will vary considerably. In many areas the largest amount of rain falls in the winter, so you probably wouldnít immediately use the rainwater for landscaping until it gets drier. By following the steps below, you will probably see that a lot of your water usage, up to fifty percent or more, is from watering your garden during the dry months.

Check your water bills again and look at how much water you use in the rainy season. Also refer once again to the average rainfall for your area that you calculated previously. With this information in hand, you can now estimate how much water is used in the house as opposed to the landscape.

By turning on each water faucet in the house and measuring how much water comes out in a given period of time and then estimating how many minutes each faucet is used each day, you can have a pretty good idea of indoor usage. For example, turn on the water in your shower and catch it with a one-gallon container. If it fills up in thirty seconds, you know that a shower will use two gallons per minute. Now estimate the amount of time spent in the shower by members of your household.

Youíll also want to measure toilet water usage. You can check your toilets by turning off the supply valve and flushing the toilet. Use your one-gallon container to fill it back up. That will tell you how many gallons it uses for each flush. Multiply the number of gallons by the number of flushes per day to get your estimate. You may also want to consider changing to a lower use water tank for your toilet to save even more water. There are low-volume flush toilets available that use around a half a gallon of water per flush!

Now that youíve calculated your household use as compared to your landscape use, you will see more clearly the benefits of a rain barrel for collecting rainwater. By using the 24,000 gallons of harvested rainwater during the dry season, you will greatly reduce municipal water system stress. Also, because many municipalities charge extra for high water usage during the summer, you may see additional savings during the summer months.
How Much Water Do I Use From My Private Water Well?

It is a bit more difficult to figure out your water usage if you have a well. A water meter is of course the best indicator of water usage, but a lot of wells don't have a water meter. You can install one on the water supply line, but if you have the documentation on the well pump, it is possible to make an estimate without installing a water meter.

Well systems usually rely on a submersible pump in a deep shaft. The water is pumped out of the well and into a pressurized tank. A tank pressure switch starts the pump when the pressure in the tank drops below the set point, letís say for example 40 ppsi (pounds per square inch). The pump shuts off again when the tank pressure reaches the cut off pressure, for example 60 ppsi.

You can make a rough estimate of your water usage by noting how long your pump runs each day and then looking at your documentation to see how many gallons per minute (GPM) it pumps. As an example, your documentation may indicate that you have a half horsepower, single phase, 220 volt pump that uses 9 amps at 40 gpm.

If your pump runs for 15 minutes a day at 40 gpm, you can calculate the gallons per day by multiplying 40 gallons per minute x 15 minutes.

40 gpm x 15 minutes = 600 gallons per day

You can calculate the gallons you use each month by multiplying the 600 gallons per day by 30 days.

600 gallons per day x 30 days = 18,000 gallons per month.

Now you can find out how much the 18,000 gallons per month costs by calculating the KWH (kilowatt hours) your pump uses each month. First, calculate the watts by multiplying the volts by amps. In this example, youíd multiply 220 volts times 9 amps.

220 volts x 9 amps = 1,980 watts

To find the watts used per day (watt hours), multiply the 1,980 watts by .25 (fifteen minutes equals .25 hours).

1,980 watts x .25 hours = 495 watt hours per day

The next step is to multiply the 495 daily watt hours by 30 days to get the monthly total. Now divide the monthly total by 1,000 to convert the figure to kwh (kilowatt hours).

(495 watt hours x 30 days)/1,000 = 14.85 kwh

Now you can look at your electric utility bill and see how much the 14.85 kwh costs you on a monthly basis.

You can also estimate your water usage by turning on each water faucet and measuring how much water comes out in a given period of time as described in the last section. You will have to measure the landscape usage in a similar manner.

As you can see, calculating your water usage using the preceding technique will only give you a very rough estimate. If youíre concerned about your water usage, you should really consider installing an hour meter that is wired into your float switch. This small investment will tell you how much water you use and how long the pump takes to pump it. If the pump begins to take more time to pump the same amount of water, the meter will also help you know when something is wrong so you can make a repair before the pump burns out.

rain barrell rain barrel with pump
Browse 50 to 80 gallon rain barrels at Clean Air Gardening.

Types of Rainwater Harvesting Systems

There are many possible configurations and degrees of complexity to a rainwater catchment system. Costs vary considerably as well. You can spend anywhere from a few dollars to thousands of dollars. Your best bet is to review the options available on the market to find out whatís in your price range and whatís a realistic set-up for your home. You can once again refer to our page on buying rain barrels to help you make a decision.

Perhaps the simplest use of rainwater if you are on a budget or have space restrictions is to put a rain barrel under one of the gutter downspouts and use the water on sensitive indoor plants. The plants will appreciate the soft water. The barrel should always be covered between uses.

A slightly more sophisticated system might be to use several barrels connected together near the bottom with pvc pipes or hose. A small pump can be used in one of the barrels to pump the water to your garden. In this case, all the barrels will drain simultaneously.

Bigger and more complex systems may use gravity to feed water from gutters to a larger cistern, which pumps water to the landscape. Some online gardening sites sell cisterns and other more complex rainwater harvesting equipment.

Whatever you decide, all systems should use covered barrels or cisterns that keep the water from accumulating leaves and other contaminants. They should also have some kind of filter to keep out silt and leaves. Filters can range from a funnel with mesh at the bottom that is covered by gravel, to a rainwater washing apparatus.
Safe Rainwater Harvesting Catchments

Any catchment area will pick up some contamination from leaves, bird droppings, dust, and other natural causes. This water is fine for watering your garden, but it will need a good filtering system before you can be sure it is safe to drink. Some roofs, such as old tar and gravel or old asbestos shingle roofs create too much contamination for rainwater harvesting. Treated cedar shakes are also not recommended for water harvesting.

The type of gutter system you have is also important, as many may have lead soldering or lead-based paints. Additionally, if you live in an area that produces heavy industrial pollution, your rainwater itself may contain some undesirable contaminants. Talk to your local municipal government about the issue of environmental contaminants in your area that may affect rainwater quality.
Other Safety and Maintenance Concerns

Water stored in any kind of container represents a risk for small children. Children can drown in as little just a few inches water. Additionally, animals both wild and domestic may become trapped and drown in your barrels if uncovered. Therefore, you should never use an open container for rainwater collection. Make sure you have some way to cover the barrel with a screen or a top. Standing water is also where mosquitoes breed best. As the West Nile virus and other diseases are important concerns these days, youíll need to take appropriate measures to deter mosquitoes from breeding in your rain barrels. It only takes about ten days for mosquitoes to breed, so you should ideally empty the water in less than ten days. You should also use a fine screen over the top of the barrel so the mosquitoes canít reach the water in the first place.

The type of barrel you use is also important. Make sure itís a food-grade container that was made to hold liquid. You cannot cut corners and simply use a trashcan because a common trashcan will not withstand the pressure of the water for long. The location of you rain barrel is also important. Make sure you place it on level and stable ground. When your rain barrel is at maximum capacity, it will weigh quite a bit and tipping is risk on un-level ground.

Depending on what part of the country you live in, we recommend disconnecting your rain barrels in the winter if temperatures in your area regularly reach freezing or below. Constant freezing and thawing of the water in your rain barrel may weaken the material or cause cracks. Store your barrels upside down in the winter to keep them clean for future use.

A final bit of advice for all rainwater catchment systems is to always monitor the rain barrels for overflow. If for example you leave for vacation for a week and havenít taken precautions to avoid the overflow of water, you may end up with damage to the foundation of your home or other related problems over time.
Glossary of Important Terms

Aquifer: Aquifers are geological formations that can store, transmit and yield water to a well or spring.

Grey Water: Water left over from domestic use for washing clothes, dishes, and the bath or shower. Contains less nitrogen and is less likely to carry diseases that toilet water with human waste. Properly used, grey water is suitable for use in the garden or landscaping.

Hard Water: Water that contains salts that prevent the formation of lather with soap. Hard water can affect your plumbing by leaving scaley deposits in the pipes. The pipes may narrow or clog with time.

Mycorrhizae: Fungi that form symbiotic relationships with roots of more developed plants.

Nematodes: Roundworms. Nematoda is the most common phyla of animals. Over 20,000 species have been described.

Soft Water: Soft water defined as treated water in which the only cation (positively charged ion) is sodium. Soft water, however, may taste salty and may not be suitable for drinking.

Other lawn and garden resources:
Gardenfrog.com
Organic Gardening Tips
Green Guide to Lawn Care
Reel Mower Guide
Compost Guide
Rainsaver USA Rain Barrels
Browse rain barrels at Clean Air Gardening.

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