Rain barrels are making a welcome comeback
Florida receives an average 52 inches of rainfall a year. Most of that water flows off our roofs onto lawns and driveways, picking up hitchhikers, in the form of fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants, for a joy ride that ends in our lakes and streams. Not a particularly healthy practice for a lot of reasons.
Rainwater harvesting is the process of capturing some of that flow for use around the house. And the old-fashioned rain barrel is making a tremendous comeback as the easiest do-it-yourself method going. There are a number of companies out there that offer customized cistern systems of various shapes and sizes, but most folks seem to be building their own, using the ubiquitous 55-gallon plastic drum as a receptacle. Reconditioned drums are available for $29 in Zellwood through Industrial Container Services (407-889-5500).
There’s a little bit of engineering involved, but not much. And there are numerous sites on the web that offer instructions and answer questions (check out the UF Site).
You’ll be surprised how quickly you can fill up one barrel, so people often link several together. 500 sq ft of roof area (regardless of pitch), during a 1/2 inch rainfall, will collect 150 gallons of water. Granted, this isn’t pressurized water from a hose bib, but as long as the barrel is off the ground you can still gravity-feed a pretty large area. You’ll save some money, and reconnect to the process of growing things (which we tend to lose when the flora of our homes are controlled by timers)–and most of all, we need people to step up in this fashion.
More than 70% of the earth’s surface is water, but only 2.5% of that water is fresh. Most of it is locked up in glaciers and ice caps, leaving us just 3/10 of 1 percent to fill the jacuzzi and pressure wash the Hummer. At least half of our local water consumption gets spent outdoors, just the place where a rain barrel can help.
We are an increasing population with increasing demands for water, and measurable strain is already being placed on our ground water and aquifer sources. Particularly in Florida, we are using too much potable water and wasting much of it. The word is out that if enough people start using rain barrel water for some of their needs, it can make a significant difference in water consumption.
And while you’re at it, why not turn them into ART!
You don’t have to spend a lot of time to engineer one – http://www.aquabarrel.com has rain barrels kits, downspout filters, downspout diverters, first flush devise and much more – check it out!