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| A "wood look" plastic barrel. |
The City of Chicago and many suburbs are marketing rain barrels as an almost painless step we can take to contribute to the ecology while saving on our water bills at the same time. Many homes are still connected to over-loaded city storm sewers. Installing a barrel also cuts you off from the municiple system and hopefully can help prevent future installments of the massive and expensive deep tunnel system that protects the city from flooding and the lake from pollution.
The barrel boosters are a little less frank when it comes to the costs and benefits for homeowners. Many homeowners have become frustrated as a result. Rain barrels can save on your water bill, for example, but you will not notice much of a change. Barrels cannnot be used in the winter and are frequently dry in summer. A 55 gallon drum is equivalent to the water in one old-fashioned shower -- or two showers in a brand new bathroom.
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| Most of us would prefer something smaller. |
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| Genuine paintable (but not yet painted) Chicago rain barrels. |
The first thing you notice after hooking up your rainbarrel is that gravity water pressure is nothing like your faucet. The pressure is very low and the flow stops altogether if you lift your hose too high. It is a good idea to raise your barrel as far off the ground as seems reasonable. Even then you are never going to put a nozzle on the end of your hose. You can, however, at least make sure it is easy to fill your watering can, and I like to use mine with soaker hoses. More on that later.
A good rain can quickly overfill your barrel, and most barrels now come with overflow tubes that can direct excess water away from the house. A better solution where you have space is to use two or more barrels hooked together.
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| This set up both provides height and doubles capacity. |
More on rain barrel tricks in my next post.
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