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Rainy Day Plan

Rain, Rain Don't Go Away
According to the American Water Works Association, the average person in the United States uses 150 gallons of water per day and almost 60% of that is used for landscaping.  How can we offset all of that water use?  A rain catchment system is a good way to collect and store water that runs off the roof - which is an average of six gallons of water per square foot for every inch of rain.

If you love listening to the sounds of a soft summer rain pitter pattering on the roof, you'll love it even more when you know how much water it's saving you.  When you have a rain harvesting system installed, you're catching all that precious rain water to quench your thirsty landscape with later.

What Makes It Green?
By using water more efficiently, we can help preserve water supplies for future generations, save money, and protect the environment. 

What You Can Do
  • Attach rain barrels to your downspouts. Most local extension services give classes on how to build your own or you can buy a kit or ready made barrels. Aquabarrel.com has a large variety of barrels and kits (www.aquabarrel.com).
  • For a recycled rain barrel alternative, check out Stark Environmental's 55 gallon white oak whiskey barrel http://www.starkenvironmental.com/a-2-storage.htm.
  • It's best if you use barrels that are enclosed to keep out debris such as pine straw and leaves. A tight lid also keeps mosquitoes from breeding in the standing water.
  • For capturing larger amounts of water and linking the reclaimed water to your irrigation system, consider an underground cistern or rain pillow. The Original Rainwater Pillow is made from material used in fish farm pond liners and comes in sizes that hold from 1000 to 40,000 gallons of water. It fits in most crawl spaces or under a deck (www.rainwaterpillow.com).
didyouknow
A recent government survey showed at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013.

handson
The 3,600 gallon Original Rainwater Pillow fills up after just ½ inch of rain and is hidden under our deck.  The water we capture in it is hooked up to our irrigation system and an environmentally friendly water feature in the courtyard.
 
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