One of the benefits to my (N.'s) job is getting to listen to discussions on current research in water management. The scope of that general topic is endlessly wide, and, while I don't find it all fascinating, every once in awhile something really strikes home with me. This week it was a discussion given by a civil engineer about the affects of the use of rain barrels in storm water management.
This gentleman is part of a program that gave out specially designed rain barrels for free to residents within a certain watershed in order to determine if this was an effective way to prevent excess rainwater from entering the storm water system. Residents participated on a voluntary basis and the rain barrels were installed for them to ensure it was done correctly. The original idea was that the barrels would capture the fast flowing rain water, and then through a slow leak valve at the bottom it would empty into the ground.
What they determined was rather surprising: they actually had a problem with gardeners! You see, the barrels were designed to fill during rain events and then slowly leak out of a specially designed valve over the course of a couple days. This way the water didn't rush into a stream they were trying to restore and cause damage to the fragile ecosystem. It would also allow the water to be naturally infiltrated into the groundwater supply. So what's their beef with gardeners? Instead of releasing the water, gardeners would keep the water stored in the rain barrel for use in irrigation. Because of this, barrels were much more likely to overflow defeating their original purpose (in the eyes of the civil engineers at least).
Honestly, I never thought about rain barrels as a way to manage storm water overflow. I looked at them as a way to capture a naturally occurring resource and use it at a later date. This doesn't mean that rain barrels can't serve both purposes. One gentleman said he and his wife were constantly battling over the rain barrel; his-wife the gardener-won. As a compromise they purchased another. They are still capturing all of the rain which prevents pollutants from getting into our surface water and excessive erosion in our stream beds, but now they are reusing some for the garden and slowly infiltrating the rest to replenish ground water supplies.
Life is always about adaption and compromise. Do you use a rain barrel? Rain garden? If so, how effective do you think they are?
What they determined was rather surprising: they actually had a problem with gardeners! You see, the barrels were designed to fill during rain events and then slowly leak out of a specially designed valve over the course of a couple days. This way the water didn't rush into a stream they were trying to restore and cause damage to the fragile ecosystem. It would also allow the water to be naturally infiltrated into the groundwater supply. So what's their beef with gardeners? Instead of releasing the water, gardeners would keep the water stored in the rain barrel for use in irrigation. Because of this, barrels were much more likely to overflow defeating their original purpose (in the eyes of the civil engineers at least).
Honestly, I never thought about rain barrels as a way to manage storm water overflow. I looked at them as a way to capture a naturally occurring resource and use it at a later date. This doesn't mean that rain barrels can't serve both purposes. One gentleman said he and his wife were constantly battling over the rain barrel; his-wife the gardener-won. As a compromise they purchased another. They are still capturing all of the rain which prevents pollutants from getting into our surface water and excessive erosion in our stream beds, but now they are reusing some for the garden and slowly infiltrating the rest to replenish ground water supplies.
Life is always about adaption and compromise. Do you use a rain barrel? Rain garden? If so, how effective do you think they are?
11 comments:
Too funny! I collect water for the garden too. I'd probably need a hundred barrels to make any effect on rain in my area.
One rain storm here would over flow any size barrel.. As Christy said, we'd need hundreds of them.
We live in Colorado where it is technically (!) illegal to collect rainwater. Who knew? Who'd know? We'll see....
Wow - fantastic post, interesting.
One thing about rain barrels is, mosquitoes will breed in uncovered standing water, so make sure you keep your rain barrel covered to reduce the amount of mosquitoes in your backyard.
I could relate to the above comment as I am living in tropical climate. I collect water in a big bucket when it rains and will have to use it immediately (the next day) to water my plants. This is to curb mosquitoes from breeding.Nonetheless, it is a good thought to use these barrels as suggested. Thanks for this posting. Steph from stephgreenspace.blogspot.com
what has really upset me about collecting runoff from our roof is that it is toxic- filled with nasty chemicals from our asphalt shingles. When you look around, there are a heck of a lot of asphalt roofs around- yuck! -Shosh
I have 3 32 gallon rain barrels on each of my 5 downspouts. I collect about 450 gallons of water in a good rain. Mine have overflow hoses that drain into my well mulched garden. My garden absorbs every drop of rain that falls on it. The only runoff I have is from my old concrete driveway. I have gone through droughts and several summers using them. I also fill my little pond in the back with water from the rain barrels. All of my barrels have screened tops to keep the mosquitoes from growing and to keep the bits and pieces of organic matter that wash off my roof from clogging the barrels.
I love my two rain barrels. But I'm a gardener in the Bay Area, not a civil engineer. :)
We have rain barrels set up to collect water. We haven't let our overflow, but I can see where that could happen. We use our barrels to water our gardens. I work at a college and I asked a chemistry professor about the asphalt shingles and contamination. He gave it quite a lot of thought, consulting with colleagues, and his conclusion was the water was very safe for use in the garden. We too use screening to keep the mosquitoes and debris out of the barrels. Interesting post!
I wish I could use rain barrels. We never see rain. We get 7 inches of precipitation annually, and that as snow in the winter. Nothing at all May to October.
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