You may live in a community where you are allowed to capture falling rain water from your rooftop for reuse. This type of irrigation known as rain water harvesting is a budget and Eco friendly way to reuse rain water to irrigate your gardens or flower beds or even to wash your car and flush your toilets. You can also purify the water and use it as a great source of drinking water.
Since the average U.S. household uses nearly 250 gallons of water per day, the benefits of harvesting rain water can really add up. A household with a 1,000 square foot roof can capture over 600 gallons of water for every 1 inch of rain. Depending on the annual precipitation in your region, this can equate to thousands of gallons of water each year.
Besides being the ultimate in water recycling, rain harvesting also reduces storm water run off which can pollute and contaminate our waterways once pesticides, lawn chemicals, oil, grease, bacteria and debris are washed down the storm drains. Rain harvesting is also a great solution for areas that are prone to drought and water rationing.
When choosing a rain barrel, you will want to consider the size of the area or the ways that you will be using the water. If you plan to use the rain water to simply water your small backyard garden or wash your car, a traditional and inexpensive 55 gallon rain barrel should suffice. They come in an assortment of styles and colors, so you should be able to find one that will look great in your backyard.
If you plan to use the rain water for all of your gray water needs or have a large garden, yard or farm area, you may want to consider a larger rain water collection tank or cistern. Rain barrels are easy to use and install within a few minutes with only minimal tools required. You can even make your own, any large container can be used as a rain barrel.
Do you harvest rain? Would you consider rain harvesting? Please leave your comments below.
Photo via aussiegall.
Want more Certified Organic, Guaranteed Delicious™ stories from Cascadian Farm? You can get a $1 off coupon when you sign up for our email newsletter. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed for fresh stories almost every day!
