Installing a rain barrel system can help you afford a green lawn in the summer.
Rain barrels are useful for a number of reasons. They provide free water for your garden, indoor plants and outdoor chores. They also provide a convenient spigot in areas of the yard where you might not have one. Rain barrels are a thrifty way to manage water runoff in a manner that does the most good for the environment, your yard and your pocketbook. Install a rain barrel system in your yard and you won't waste a drop. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Chose the location of your rain barrels. You will want to locate your barrels under the existing downspouts of your gutter system. Determine your placement by estimating your collection needs, what area of the yard you will use the most water, and if you want your barrels to be seen. For instance, you may want to place two barrels near your garden and none on a high visibility corner of the house.
2. Make or purchase your rain barrels. Many websites and stores offer a variety of rain barrels for sale. You can also make a rain barrel yourself by recycling a 55-gallon food-grade-quality barrel. Make sure that your rain barrel has a screened inlet hole in the top of the barrel, an overflow hole on the side toward the top, and a spigot on the side toward the bottom. Look your barrels over and make sure that they will not leak.
3. Set up your overflow system. Whether your barrels are store-bought or homemade, you will still need to decide what to do with excess water. If your current gutter system runs into French drains or pipes, then you may want to use a product called a rainwater diverter that will send overflow back into the system. If your gutter water currently spills onto the ground surface, then you will want to install flexible tubing from the overflow hole on your barrels and extend it 3 to 6 feet away from the house. Another option is to send overflow from one barrel into another barrel or series of barrels.
4. Clear and level the site of each barrel. Determine what you want to use as a foundation. The higher you elevate the barrels, the farther the water can flow through a hose and the better the resulting water pressure. Cinderblocks are easy if all you need to do is fill a small watering can, but you will want to build/buy higher platforms if you plan on running a hose across the yard. Level each barrel on its foundation and make sure that it will still be secure once it weighs more than 450 pounds.
5. Integrate your new barrels into your existing drainage system. Cut the existing gutters and install a means of funneling water into the barrels. Use a rigid gutter elbow or flexible piping placed so that its mouth is approximately 4 inches from the inlet hole of the barrel. If, instead, you elect to use a rainwater diverter, this product will send water into the side of the barrel rather than the top. Run a hose up to your gutters to test the system.
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