Getting started
Rain barrels offer many benefits to not only homeowners’ wallets and lawns but also to the environment. Installing a new rain barrel is one of the easier outdoor projects homeowners can do. Several local organizations, including Greene County Parks and Trails and the Habitat Environmental Center in Kettering, offer workshops for those just starting out.
“To get started, people need to determine if they have a spot along their gutter system that they can connect into a barrel and that the ground is also flat and level,” said Cris Barnett, chief naturalist with Greene County Parks and Trails. “[A] class will offer more information about how to care for your barrel, where best to place it, how to hook it up.”
Most rain barrels are constructed from plastic and have a spigot for easy water removal. They should be placed near a downspout, preferably on level ground. “Most rain barrels are about 65 gallons,” said Chad Ingle, an engineer with the City of Kettering, who recently led a rain barrel workshop at the Habitat Environmental Center. “There are many places to purchase the barrel on the web or buy the supplies at a local hardware store. The Internet is a great resource for materials and ideas.”
Benefits
“Rain barrels help to collect excess water that would eventually run onto your yard,” Barnett said. “In heavy rain situations, it works well to help keep your lawn from having standing water.”
“Depending on the size of your house and the amount of rainfall in your area, you can collect a substantial amount of rainwater with a simple system,” Ingle said. “This extra water can have a significant impact on your water bill.”
The water is stored for general gardening and outdoor use. “Particularly in drought weather, when areas are under water restrictions, people have water to water their plants without using tap water,” Barnett said. This feature can also be helpful in any weather conditions if you’re looking to cut down on your summertime water bill or limit your ecological footprint by using less water.
For those in rural areas, rain barrels can be extremely handy. Barnett said, “If people are on wells, rain barrel water helps to keep from using that precious well water. In cities where additives [such as chlorine] are added to water, if people do not want this on their plants, rain barrel water is an alternative.”
Maintenance and misconceptions
For those who don’t have a lot of time or energy to invest in outdoor projects, a rain barrel is a good solution. “Maintenance is minimal,” Barnett said. “The barrel needs to be cleaned out each year, needs to be rinsed with a vinegar solution and should be taken in during the winter, so that the barrel does not fill in the winter and then split.”
If you’re worried about other maintenance or upkeep woes, note that there are a few misconceptions about rain barrels. “The biggest misconception is that rain barrels breed mosquitoes,” Barnett said. “If you use your rain barrel and the water does not sit stagnant for weeks at a time, then mosquitoes do not have the ability to breed. The only way this happens is when water sits for weeks at a time not being moved.”
Because so little maintenance is required and because of their money-saving potential, rain barrels are a rapidly growing trend. Although they’re coming into the mainstream now, they’ve actually been around for a few thousand years. “Collecting rainwater for use during dry months in rain barrels or other depositories is an ancient and traditional practice,” Ingle said. “With the rising price of municipal water and drought restrictions now facing much of the United States during the summer months, more and more homeowners in our own modern society are turning to the harvesting of rainwater to save money and protect this precious natural resource.”
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