Today, I picked up our rain barrel at the Friends of the Rappanhannock organization and am really excited! I am going to hook it up to one of our gutters this weekend so we can begin capturing the rain runoff from our roof. We will use the water for our plants and trees. "Did you know that on average more than 34,000 gallons of rain can fall on a 30 x 40 square foot roof in Virginia?! Much of this water flows across lawns, over pavement and directly into storm sewers, eventually ending up in local lakes, streams and rivers. During heavy rain events, this runoff can lead to increased streambank erosion, flooding and water pollution. The use of rain barrels is an inexpensive way to decrease storm water runoff, conserve water for garden and lawn use and save money on your water bill. A single rain barrel can save about 1,300 gallons of water during peak summer months!"
You all know I am going to do my best to encourage my neighbors in Ladysmith Village to get one as well. Just think of all the water we could capture and save just by hooking ONE rain barrel?!
3 comments:
You should hook it up now if the melting snow on your roof is anything like ours! Our backyard is a swamp from the runoff out of the gutters! Where would we dump it now to alleviate that though?
Where can I get a rain barrel? I'm going to plant some veggies this year, and why pay for water when it comes from the sky for free? Oh yeah, about a month or so ago I found a place to take my recycling without having to go to the dump, and it's on the way to my gym! I'm super excited about that. I can't believe how much stuff we were throwing away!
Great idea John. Keep us posted on how it works. I've read about this and have thought about. Question - what about the problems with mosquitos and standing water in containers?
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