Make Your Own Rain Barrel

How much rainwater comes off of your house's roof in a year? Consider a roof with a surface area of 1,000 square feet. One inch of rain, running off a 1,000-square-foot surface, amounts to 625 gallons of rainwater. In our area, our average annual rainfall is 52.4 inches of rain. Therefore, in a year's time, a 1,000 square foot roof will catch approximately 32,750 gallons of water that is free and which can be captured and used for watering your plants or lawn during the drier periods.

Calculate the runoff for your own roof. Take the area of your roof (assume 1,500 square feet for this example). 1,500 times 625 divided by 1,000 equals 938 gallons per inch of rain. 938 gallons times 52.4 inches of rain in a year equals 49,151 gallons of rainwater in a year.

Rain barrels can be purchased commercially, over the Internet, or you can make your own. Use a plastic trash can or other type of barrel that can be covered or screened (to prevent mosquitoes). Add one or two ¾" hose adapters, install them with silicone adhesive to seal the openings, and you are capturing water that otherwise would be wasted. For thin wall barrels, such as trash cans, it is suggested that silicone caulk be used to seal the openings where hoses would be attached. A spigot can be added about 18 inches up to fill water cans.

If your home is not surrounded by trees, you can simply hook in a downspout. If there are trees, you may wish to install a screened opening for the downspout to empty into. This allows cleaning of the debris normally associated with trees, particularly in the spring. Barbed hose connector with hose shutoff valve added, Connect the overflow to a hose or tubing and drain it away from your house's foundation. The hose connector can be hooked to a normal or soaker hose for watering your lawn and plants during dry periods.

The water is free!

Note that this water should only be used for irrigation, not human consumption.

Considerations:

• Use a barbed hose adapter connected to the hose for overflow. Use the overflow device
• to direct excess water away from your home's foundation when the tank is full.
• Tie into the downspout or use the screened opening in the lid.
• Use a tight-fitting, light-blocking lid to keep children and animals out of the water
• and stop the development of algae.
• Add a screen to keep leaves and other debris out of the water if it is not otherwise
• covered and sealed.
• Monitor the barrel to ensure intakes and overflows aren't blocked.
• Ensure the barrel is raised enough to have easy access to the spigot.
• It's a good idea in the winter to drain the rain barrel and reconnect the downspout.
• Freezing water can burst the barrel.