RAIN BARREL TIP SHEET
What Is a Rain Barrel?
A rain barrel is a system that collects and stores rainwater from your roof that would otherwise run off and be diverted to storm drains, streams, and rivers.  It is composed of a 55 gallon drum (plastic or wooden), a vinyl hose, PVC
couplings, a screen grate to keep debris and insects out, and other common items.  A rain barrel is relatively simple and inexpensive to construct and can sit conveniently under a residential gutter downspout.
What Are the Advantages of a Rain Barrel?
Lawn and garden watering make up nearly 40% of total household water use during the summer. A rain barrel collects water and stores it for when you need it most  - during periods of drought - to water plants, wash your car, or top a swimming pool. It
provides an ample supply of free “soft water” to homeowners, containing no chlorine, lime or calcium.  This makes it ideal for gardens, flower pots, and car and window washing.

A rain barrel will save most homeowners about 1,300 gallons of water during peak summer months. Saving water not only helps protect the environment, it saves you money and energy (decreased demand for treated tap water). Diverting water from storm drains also decreases the impact of runoff to streams and rivers.  Therefore, a rain barrel is an easy way for you to help protect our watersheds and have a consistent supply of clean, fresh water for outdoor use, for FREE!
Benefits:
Reduces runoff volumes, conserves water for reuse, provides irrigation water during watering restrictions, saves money and energy, protects watersheds, it's clean and fresh & it's FREE
Commercial Rain Barrel Systems:
The Spigot Irrigation System is a kit comprised of a
standard hose fitting on a 25’ long, 3/4” poly-hose. The kit comes with a 1/16” drill bit for creating holes in the hose where needed. The Overflow  Irrigation System is a kit that contains a single 50’ long 3/4” poly-hose, a T-connector, and the appropriate fittings and stainless steel clamps. This system is fed by the 1.25” overflow outlet that goes into a T-connector supplying two 25’ long hose sections that are able to then distribute water through 1/16” holes.

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