In one month, nearly 2,200 gallons of rainwater have passed through my rain barrel.
Editor’s note September 2017: With fall rain showers starting up, we’re re-posting this eleven-year-old (!) favorite from Eric de Place.
Ah, Seattle in November… it’s right up there with Paris in the spring. And this November: what a month! As of the 15th, we’ve broken our record for the rainiest November on record, with 11.64 inches so far.
Speaking of rain and our far-distant spring… this past spring, I succumbed to a fit of eco-grooviness and bought a rain barrel. After all, what could be better than capturing my roof’s rainwater and keeping my plants happy in the summer?
I got a bargain on a 60-gallon orange job from a Seattle Public Utilities program. It was originally used to ship peppers or olives from Greece, and you can still see Cyrillic characters on the side.
I like my rain barrel not because it’s reducing my water consumption—it’s not, at least not in any meaningful way—but because it taught me something elementary about rain in the Northwest. There’s a lot of it.
And there’s a lot of it running off our roofs and driveways. Take, for example, my house, which is fairly “cozy.” (That’s realtor-ese for “small.”) Roughly one-third of my roof—about 300 square feet—drains into the barrel.
Any guesses how many gallons of water come down from that one-third of my roof in a one-inch rainfall?
The answer is roughly 187 gallons, or more than 3 times the capacity of my barrel. That means that this month alone, nearly 2,200 gallons of rainwater have passed through my barrel (almost all of it through the overflow hose that feeds into a drain).
In fact, my small city lot has already absorbed or drained or leaked more than 32,000 gallons of water this month. No wonder managing stormwater and rain runoff is such a big deal. No wonder my backyard turned into a mini-Everglades last winter.
All that rainwater actually creates a headache not just for waterlogged lawns, but for urban infrastructure. High-rainfall events lead to toxics and other pollution running off into local waterbodies and degrading their health. All that wet stuff can strain our infrastructure’s drainage capacity, too. And the problem may worsen as urban areas become more dense and therefore more covered with impervious surfaces (which effectively make all the rainfall run off into the drainage system).
So how on earth can we manage all that rainwater? Unfortunately, rain barrels aren’t going to be the answer.
The problem with the venerable rain barrel, as you might guess, is that there’s not much need for it most of the year. The water isn’t drinkable (because it’s sluiced off the asphalt shingle roof), so it’s useful mostly for watering plants. And from the look of things, my plants have plenty of water right about now. In the Northwest’s dry summer, of course, things are a different matter. Plants need lots of extra water—unless they’re well established and drought tolerant—but then there’s not nearly enough water in the barrel to go around. Maybe what I need is a really, really big barrel.
Actually, that is one of the possible solutions: cisterns. And grassy swales and green roofs and a few other tricks. See this article, for instance. Admittedly, some of these new techniques are expensive and tricky. But then again, the existing drainage infrastructure is also pretty expensive, and it’s not exactly un-complicated either.
In any case, I’ve developed a newfound interest in natural drainage—harvesting the water and treating it like a benefit to the urban ecosystem, instead of a problem that needs gold-plated solutions to manage.
This has been the first edition of Things Eric Has Learned From His Rain Barrel. Tune in next week when the rain barrel teaches Eric how to speak conversational Greek.
Click here for more on Eric's backyard conundrums.
UPDATE 11/17/06: A rather hilarious take on this post over at the Seattlest.
Jan
I grew up with a cistern. I recall my dad pouring Clorox into it in the depth of a drought, when it got perilously low, and pulling dead birds out when we cleaned it one summer. But our family of seven never ran out. All our fixtures had three taps: hot and cold cistern water, and cold well water for drinking.The notion of “graded water” is something I’m pushing that doesn’t get much press. We flush our toilets with the same water we drink, and spurn any source that is less than potable. This can’t go on! Your asphalt-shingle water is perfectly fine for watering gardens. The gray water from your sinks and showers could be used for flushing toilets.$59 is a lot of money to pay for a rain barrel. Make friends with a dairy farmer! They go through “teat dip” like water! I get my 200 liter barrels from a local farmer for $10, $5 for 120 liter ones (more manageable when full, if you want to move them around), and $2.50 for cute little 60 liter ones that have a handle on top.
Arie v.
I’d like to know how they do it in Tokyo. A quick internet search shows an annual average rainfall of 55.5″ vs 36″ in Seattle and much of that falls in June during Tsuyu or rainy season. Being an even denser urban landscape with little green space it might make a good study. I found a “Sewerage in Tokyo” study online http://www.gesui.metro.tokyo.jp/english/no08.htm—but not a lot of info or insight into conservation or green measures. Converse to here the grass is green in summer, but goes brown in winter and I noticed they didn’t waste water on the golf courses when I lived there. I’m a golfer, yet knowing what my water bills were I certainly had no problem with it.
Lloyd Zimmerman
Just North of Bellingham in a small former farming town of Ferndale. We are attempting to do something fun, with water . The plan is build a 20,000 sq. ft.Dome. Use the hemispherical shape of the monolithic dome and have a 2-3 foot thick green roof drain field completely covering it creating an artesian water source. There is a company in Bellingham called “Blue Future”. They design clean water systems for communities around the world using a sand filter technique. We hope to incorporate it into the design. Housed inside one of the domes will be a aquatic park. View us at http://www.ferndaledoubledome.com
Eric de Place
Fascinating food for thought, all of this.Jan, maybe you’re right. I should make friends with a dairy farmer. But my $59 barrel came with some nice add-on features, such as a screened (mosquito-proof) opening on top, a drain cock, and an overflow system that I would have otherwise had to assemble myself. That said, installing my barrel still took a bit of work. I had to hacksaw my downspout short and install a bent-angle arm to reach the opening. Then I had to afix a short hose length to the overflow valve and run that to the drain. Not a huge deal, but it added a bit more time and money to the project.
Rodney
I purchased 4 rain barrels and so far have hooked two of them up. Here’s the problems I’ve had…The built-in hose spicket overflow is inadequate for the amount of water that comes in to the barrel through the gutter downspout, resulting in an overflowing barrel. My fix for this was a jigsaw, downspout adapter, a flexible downspout tube, and a bunch of caulk. I still haven’t finished this patch job, but am not convinced that the time I’ve spent on this is worth the benefits.On the second rain barrel, I’ve connected a soaker hose to the downspout. Unfortunately, there is not enough water pressure to force water out through the soaker hose! Perhaps a drip irrigation system would work better?I’m planning to wait until I get the first two rain barrel installations perfected before trying to get the last two hooked up.Does anyone know of a water pump that I could hook onto my rain barrel in order to provide more water pressure?There must be a better way to capture and reuse water…
dbrook
I have always found the fascination with rain barrels in the NW to comical – but worse if the City of Seattle is promoting them! The only justification I can think of is that it’s a cheapo downspout disconnect. But one that’s likely to lead to moisture problems in some people’s basements from the overflow. Oh yes, and as an awareness building measure – which this post shows clearly happens. As others have said, given our rain patterns you gotta have a LOT of rain barrels lined up to do any good. Grey water resue is the best strategy here if you really want to keep your garden green. If only cities would get over their fear of it!
rainbarrelman
The city of Portland has a solution for storm water runoff, it’s called The Clean River Rewards Program. It teaches people how to manage their storm water runoff on their property as well as giving them an incentive for doing so. Each rate payer has the opportunity to recieve up to 100% discount on their stormwater charges. More information can be obtained by going to the links page thats on the rainbarrelman.com website. On another note …….. As an owner of a rain harvesting business I am concerned about all the small rain barrel companys that are popping up in one place after an other, that charge outragous prices for their plastic drums (rain barrels) What gets me is that the people that buy them think that they are getting a great deal when in fact they are not. A drum, a spigot and an inadequate over flow is not worth over a hundred dollers and yet that is what I see as I surf the web. Never did I think that the rain barrels that I build were so unique untill I purchased a PC (after five years in the business)and found out what everybody else were doing. Where’s the imagination and inovation of this product? It wouldn’t be so bad if they were to put some thought and sweat into it. You know, I’m all for the person who goes out and finds or pays a small fee for a drum and makes his own and even for the rain barrel company that sells his rain drum for a fair price, it’s just the ones that have nothing more than dollar signs in their eyes, that maks me shake my head. RBM
Anonymous
In response to Posted by Rodney on 11/18/2006 at 07:47 PM Does anyone know of a water pump that I could hook onto my rain barrel in order to provide more water pressure? There must be a better way to capture and reuse water…Here you go:http://cgi.ebay.com/Rain-Barrel-Pump-Electric_W0QQitemZ250223005598QQihZ015QQcategoryZ29522QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Glen
Yes there is a better way
1. Get yourself a pony pump (a cheap one) runs off 12 volt car battery
2. get some old car battery (depends on how long you water at a time) get battery from scrap yard … cheap …maybe $10 a piece, or talk to your local mechanic
3. buy a cheap (one or two ) solar panel … that will trickle charge the battery … don’t need inverter or voltage controller
I have pump mine over 100 feet from the back to the front of the house.
Remember to put a light switch for turning it on.
Only problem I have is: my wife does not want to walk from the front of the house to the back yard to flip the switch.
Have been running it for about 9 years now … remember to empty in the winter
Good luck
Glen
Denise
In response to a rain barrel pump: There is a company called “Rain Barrels in Georgia” (web address http://www.rainbarrelsingeorgia.com) that sells a pump specifically for a rain barrel. There are a few companies that also sell pumps, but they are battery operated and don’t have the force of an electric pump. Also, the electric pump do not automatically shut off, which could burn up the motor. The pump sold by RBIG is electric and automatically shuts off once the barrel is emptied. Check them out. The pump is about $150.Denise
Jason
I think this is what you are looking for:www.rainbarrelpump.com
Craig Topf
I live in the Okanagan in British Columbia which is extremely dry in the summer. I have become fascinated with using rainwater for watering to reduce consumption and costs (metering is becoming so expensive). I have one barrel but am planning to get a lot more.I have used a submersible pump (for fish ponds) in the barrel hooked to a hose. It works excellent for hand watering. I tried a fizzer for the lawn as an experiment, but of course does not have the same pressure as a faucet. The pump drains the water fast from the barrel which I guess gives an idea as to how much water we use for our lawns and gardens. I also have a pool which I know may be evil when trying to be water conscious. However, the winter blanket collects an enormous amount of water which I have also used for spring watering with the pump.
Bert
How can I prevent the water in my rain barrel from becoming rancid? Would an injection of vinegar or baking soda keep it clean or must I keep it flowing at all times to my flower garden.Bert.
John Elliotte
In answer to Berts question about keeping his rain barrel water from becoming rancid, we, at the rainbarrelman company, recommend using GSE ( grapefriut seed extract). It has been used as an algaecide, bactericide, and fungicide in lieu of chlorine or iodine water treatments. It is non-toxic to animals and humans. Adding GSE to your rain water will only enhance it’s usability and help keep your barrel clean. Please visit our site at http://www.rainbarrelman.com
peter
Regarding rain barrel pumps – I recently started using a rain barrel pump to make watering convienent. After returning a “rain barrel” pump that wasn’t allowed to get wet I bought the p-rana pump from rain barrels r us. It makes watering a lot easier. Regarding soaker hoses – I was told to remove the plastic washer found inside the hose for gravity fed systems. Try that it worked for me.
arlene
Thank You!!
leenie
Juanita
It’s becoming clear that an overflow hose the size of the downspout is the only solution to spill. I’m in Nebraska and we can get very intermittent rains in the summer so the rainbarrels make sense. I’m chagrined to think that I discovered a cistern on my property and had it filled in because I didn’t have a safe cover for it and besides “who knew?” And, yes, as many have commented: a 1000 sf roof area during a downpour shunts an enormous amount of water, very approximately 600 gallons in a one-inch rain(?). Divide that into four downspouts and that’s 150 gallons per spout. You need THREE barrels (50-gal) per spout, and that’s assuming they were empty when the rain started. During rainy weeks, the water in the barrels isn’t needed anywhere so the barrels remain full. You just have to be alert to bypassing them when needed. Raingardens…swales and sinks with watertolerant plants are the necessary complement. Much more complicated thann the simplistic idea of “getting a rainbarrel.”
Linda
The higher you raise the barrel, the more water pressure. Check the physics, or just keep raising the barrel. Good luck.