Why Everyone Should Have a Rain Barrel

by Eoin Carroll

Let me start by saying that if you want to know more about rain barrels the Penn State Extension website has a ton of information in a variety of forms.  Today I have only a couple of minutes so I am just going to stick with a few highlights.

The three biggest benefits of having a rain barrel is that it conserves water, it reduces pollution, and finally that the water is really great for your plants.

Conserving water has many benefits.  If you are on a well, as I am, then you know how conserving water is always on your mind.  Even if you are on a public water system, conservation helps both in reducing the demand and in saving the energy it takes to pump that water to your house.

A rain barrel reduces pollution in two ways.  As I’ve mentioned in some of my previous talks, the major way that excess sediment and nutrients end up in our waterways is through a process called surface transportation.  The water captured by your roof and channeled through your gutters is then usually directed to a lawn or driveway.  Here it can easily pick up plenty of pollutants.  By capturing some of that water you will lessen that problem.  This is especially valuable for small rain events.  The first flood of water will catch and transport the most pollutants.  By capturing the entire rainfall this can completely eliminate this source.

If you live in a city with storm sewers, those sewers are normally connected with the sanitary sewer which then goes to a treatment plant.  This is called a combined storm sewer system (CSSS). When it rains it is very easy to overwhelm the capacity of the wastewater plant and when this happens untreated sewage is discharged into our rivers and creeks.  In a built-up city environment this can happen with even very modest amounts of rain.  Having a rain barrel can help reduce the number of events.

One of the biggest benefits of having a rain barrel is how good this water is for your plants.  It makes sense that this is exactly the type of water plants were designed for.  It is perfect for pots, hanging baskets, and gardens.

Rain barrels are quite easy to build.  The Penn State Extension website has articles on this and also has rain barrel kits for sale.  I will use one of the kits after the service to hook up a rain barrel for use by our new pollinator garden.  Please come take a look if you have the time.

For more information on how to install a rain barrel, check out Install a Rain Barrel in the Projects You Can Do section of our Watershed Circle page.