Thursday, March 5, 2009

Rain Barrels Great For Water Conservation



Owning rain barrels can be beneficial for a variety of reasons. Rain barrels can decrease household expenses. If you are required to pay for town water services where you live, installing a rain barrel to siphon roof run off can supplement your water usage and cause your water bill to be cheaper. In addition, rain barrels can significantly decrease our impact on the environment.

You may be surprised to see know how much water can be gathered with the help of rain barrels. If, for instance, you are using your roof or another similarly large surface from which to divert the run off into the barrels, it is fairly simply to calculate how many gallons of water you can expect to collect. For 1,000 square feet of roof or catching space, you can collect 600 gallons of water per one inch of rainfall. You can see using this formula that if you have a very large roof or catchment surface, you can collect quite a bit of water!

Do not forget, however, that living in a climate where there is often abundant rain will benefit more from this technology. Some places where this could be an especially useful in the United States are the Pacific NorthWest, and the Eastern coast of the United States.

Rain barrels are also wonderful in that they are environmentally friendly. Due to the fact that rain water is a renewable resource, there is no need to have a well or pump water from the ground, which can exhaust supplies and harm the environment. Also, if for some reason subterranean water tables become polluted, your home or business will not be at risk since you are obtaining your water from a different source.

The way that rain barrels function is fairly simple. Basic barrels include a spigot or valve, a straining device, a sturdy lid and a storage tank. The storage tank is the part of the device that most of us would think of as the rain barrel. Rain water flows from the catchment or roof to the gutters, through the strainer and into the storage area. You can get a hose to hook up to your spout in the barrel, or you can use the valve to access the water once your tank is holding some. Using your rain water for gardening, car washing and other activities is very easy with just a basic barrel.

A myriad of various materials, sizes and complexities of rain barrels can be purchased. Wood, clay and plastic are three examples. Often clay and wooden barrels are decorative and easy on the eyes, but can be more expensive than plastic. For outdoor uses such as gardening, these are idea. If you are looking for a barrel that is inexpensive and has a range of uses, plastic is your best bet. As a word of caution, you should not use plastic barrels for gardening due to the fact that they can spawn certain plant specific contaminants if UV rays are exposed to the water inside.

From fifteen gallons to one thousand, you can get just about any size rain barrel. No matter your needs or aesthetic preferences, rain barrels can be used to conserve both water and money.



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