With spring well underway and many people having extra time on their hands this year to do some backyard gardening, this is the perfect opportunity to talk about a staple in the outdoor watersaver’s toolbox: the rain barrel.
In a nutshell, rain barrels capture the stormwater that falls on your roof by hooking into your gutter’s downspout. This has two main benefits, both of which are connected to each other.
Most rain barrels can hold about 55 gallons of water. That’s water that often would have otherwise flowed down your driveway and into the stormdrain, and from there into your local freshwater stream then down into the Delaware Bay or the ocean. (It can also help keep water away from your basement, especially if you attach a hose to the overflow and lead it away from the house). Because of all of the impervious surfaces humans have built over the years, including the roofs of buildings, the hydrology of streams has changed dramatically.
In a natural area with mostly pervious surfaces, much of the rain water will flow into the aquifer, and from there only slowly release into local waterways. But in an area with a lot of impervious surfaces, much of the water flows into the stream all at once, in a kind of flash flooding event. This tends to scour away habitat and reduces baseflow during times when it hasn’t recently rained, as well as blocking the recharge of the aquifer. By capturing at least some of the rain that falls on your roof, you are helping to prevent this negative effect.
The other positive impact of rain barrels is that you can use the captured water for all sorts of outdoor uses, most commonly watering the garden, which you normally would have had to use the hose for – which is water that was extracted from the aquifer.
So a rain barrel has the double benefit of helping to prevent stormwater runoff and helping to conserve water in the aquifer. Rain water that would have normally run off into the stormdrain is instead put to a productive use in your garden.
A rain barrel can actually save you 1,400 gallons from April to October!
If you are interested in getting your own rain barrel, many of our partners host make-your-own workshops periodically. So check back here and on our partner’s sites for information on upcoming events. Or, if you want to make your own, check out this video for a little DIY