A rain barrel is a system that collects and stores rainwater from your roof that would otherwise be lost to runoff and diverted to storm drains and streams. Usually a rain barrel connected to your downspout—also known as a rain bank—has few contaminants and is perfect for watering the garden. Lawn and garden irrigation can account for 40% of domestic water consumption during the summer. Rain barrels not only store water, they help decrease demand during the sweltering summer months. Only 1/4 inch of rainfall runoff from the average roof will completely fill the typical barrel. Collection of water from rooftop runoff can provide an ample supply of this free "soft water" containing no chlorine, lime or calcium. A rain barrel will save most homeowners about 1,300 gallons of water during the peak summer months. Saving water not only helps protect the environment, it saves you money and energy (decreased demand for treated tap water while reducing the volume of water flowing to the sewer treatment facility). Diverting water from storm drains also decreases the impact of runoff to streams and lowers the percentage of roof top rainfall as a component of urban runoff. Therefore, a rain barrel is an easy way for you to have a consistent supply of clean, fresh water for outdoor use for a multitude of applications, including organic vegetable gardens, raised planter beds for botanicals, indoor tropical plants like ferns and orchids, automobile washing, and cleaning household windows.
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