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Harvest Rainwater and Save Big

harvesting rainwater, rainwater, collection rainwater, rainwater tank
By elevating your rain barrel, you can create enough water pressure to distribute water throughout your garden easily via a connecting soaker hose or other irrigation system.
TABITHA ALTERMAN
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To conserve energy and save on your monthly water bill, simply look to the sky ? rainwater is an excellent source of water for gardening, bathing, cooking and drinking. Unlike conventional water drawn from underground aquifers, rainwater is always salt- and mineral-free, and its low hardness level eliminates any need for a water softener.


Rainwater harvesting systems can be very expensive and complex, but even setting up a barrel can save you thousands of gallons of tap water each year, especially if you connect it to a downspout. In the summer, when lawn and garden watering typically account for 40 percent of a household's total water use, attaching an ordinary hose to a full rain barrel and running it through your garden will prevent large amounts of unnecessary water waste.

Sixty to 80 gallon barrels usually work best for rainwater harvesting, and are widely available. If you decide to use a barrel you already own, make sure it has never held anything toxic, and wash it out thoroughly just to be sure. After it rains, cover the barrel with a fine mesh to keep out mosquitoes, debris and other contaminants.

To learn about the many other systems of rainwater harvesting and to see a number of design plans, read Harvest the Rain in the August/September 2003 issue of Mother Earth News.

12 Comments

  • WINTER Star 12/6/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Unable to rain catch in apartment, but got away with greyater
    recycling!Greywater catchment to a barrel was from tub/shower and
    washer. With pump and return lines, greywater flushed
    toilets.Handpump moved shower/tub water to barrel, handpumped that
    back to flush toilet as needed. Excess water irrigated yard via
    gravity flow. Catch barrel allowed greywater time to sit and
    breakdown elements in it.Could have used filter bucket with filter
    cloth and gravel/sand to good effect!

  • B S 12/6/2006 12:00:00 AM

    As a permanent structure for harvesting rain water collection at
    a reasonalbe cost, one can use reinforced concrete vats
    manufactured in a mass scale.Bharati Sharma

  • B S 12/6/2006 12:00:00 AM

    As a permanent structure for harvesting rain water collection at
    a reasonalbe cost, one can use reinforced concrete vats
    manufactured in a mass scale.Bharati Sharma

  • ANDREW webster 12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM

    try:http://epcontainers.net/id1.htmlI've never ordered from
    them, but found them yesterday while looking for cheap rain
    containers. around $30 for used food grade plastic barrels. guess
    what i'm asking for this christmas?

  • JOHN Parfitt 10/21/2006 12:00:00 AM

    I wouldn't like to use rainwater from my roof for cooking and
    drinking, considering that birds use it as a lavatory. But these
    two make up a small percentage of water use; if you don't mind
    carrying buckets, rainwater can be used for flushing toilets which
    accounts for 30 percent of domestic water use in the UK. Over the
    last year I have got my metered water usage down to half what the
    water company regards as the lowest average consumption for a
    single person, and that includes using a washing machine once a
    week and a dishwasher every 3 days. I have one 250 litre (about 45
    gallons) barrel for the garden and two 100 litre barrels for
    flushing toilets, car washing and general outside use.

  • TOM Kociemba 9/27/2006 12:00:00 AM

    When watering your landscape in Arizona you will want to
    purchase a Hydropoint System from Sprinkler World. This system
    works off a GPS system, 17,000 weather stations and NOAA
    satellites. It reprograms your controller every day and waters your
    landscape according to scientific principals.They have an ROI
    calculator on their web site. (www.hydropoint.com) Also check for
    rebates in your town. In Peoria, AZ where I live there is a $30
    rebate.

  • Dan Humphries 9/23/2006 12:00:00 AM

    for PKozak, who says you have to use a rainbarrel.. i have a
    woman friend who uses the largest garbage cans she can find...
    she's been doing this for a few years now and she just went out and
    bought 6 more today... they were on sale for about $10 each...good
    luck on your venture

  • JULIE Thompson 9/15/2006 12:00:00 AM

    When placing your rain barrels outside, place a few goldfish in
    them during the warmer weather! They will eat the mosquitoe larvae
    so you don't have to worry about additional mosquitoes!

  • Sharon Barnes 9/15/2006 12:00:00 AM

    For PKozak,I'm not sure where you live, but you may be able to
    construct your own rain barrel if there is a distributer of Coke,
    Pepsi, or other companies that use food grade 55 gallon+ plastic
    barrels in your locale...you may be able get one free if you make
    contact with the company's manager. I can provide directions to
    construct your own rain barrel if you can obtain a barrel. I can be
    contacted via e-mail: sharon_barnes@kcmo.org.

  • BARBARA GLADHILL 9/15/2006 12:00:00 AM

    We made a rain barrel a few weeks ago in August. We will use the
    water for our lawn, flowers and garden next Spring. We got our
    barrel from the Toyota dealership where my husband works. They had
    soap in it so we washed it out really good and put a spout in the
    screw hole end and cut a hole in the side to fit the down spout
    into. It collects rain from our chicken house. The barrel sits on a
    wooden saw horse stand that our 12 year son made out of boards.
    Wow, it really collects a lot of rain water fast too.

  • PAULA Kozak 9/14/2006 12:00:00 AM

    I would love to do this, but the least expensiverain barrels I
    can find are around $50 (notincluding shipping!). I have to believe
    thati could get them somewhere for less---anyadvice from
    anyone?thanks

  • Sharon Barnes 9/13/2006 12:00:00 AM

    I have been collecting rain water for about 5 years. I live in
    Kansas City, MO, an urban area, and one of the benfits of rain
    harvesting in urban communities is that it helps mitigate
    stormwater pollution of our streams, rivers and lakes...it is the
    green thing to do.I use rainwater to water my flowers, vegetable
    garden, water garden, and my rain garden when it gets very hot and
    dry during our summers, and my chickens...yes, chickens may be
    raised in the city in which I reside - they provide free range eggs
    and fertilizer for my gardening needs.Growing up on a farm having a
    cistern provided me with the base knowledge for using rain barrels
    in the city.

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