Saving Water for a really Green Purpose

User: mduclos1@icloud.com

Vendor: Drive Green - Green Energy Consumers Alliance

Action: 3576 - Use Rain Barrels for Outdoor Watering

We purchased our rain barrel through Sustainable Stow when they ran a group purchase in the spring of 2023, and it has substantially reduced the amount of drinking water we use to keep our garden green. It took perhaps an hour to locate the barrel on a pair of concrete blocks to elevate it so we could put watering cans beneath, to cut the rain water diverter into the downspout, and to install a hose from the diverter into the top of the rain barrel, it was an easy DIY project. When we use the rain barrel we hand water with watering cans, so we are more careful with putting the water exactly where the plants need it, so we probably use less water. The summer of 2023 was fairly wet, so we haven't yet experienced a dry summer to see if one rain barrel is enough for what we do, but based on our experience I think it would probably be adequate in all but the dryest summers. It would be an easy matter to add a second rain barrel if we felt the need. Very dry summers have caused both outdoor watering limitations and bans for public water sources, as well as causing private wells to fail, so we feel good about reducing the stress on our potable water supply, and reducing sewer fees that are billed on the basis of potable water use as well.