Why a Rain Barrel?

Rain barrels can connect to your home downspout, helping to prevent water pollution and reduce flooding. By catching the unabsorbed water that hits your roof, rain barrels decrease the overall amount of runoff from your property. Don’t think that amounts to much? Consider this- 1 inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot roof yields 623 gallons of water! All that water has to go somewhere.

Why is decreased runoff a good thing? After a rain or snowmelt, unabsorbed water picks up pollutants such as soil, pet waste, grass clippings, litter, antifreeze, oil and excess fertilizer on its journey to your local stream, river or lake. Once the runoff reaches a body of water, it deposits these pollutants. (Water that travels through a storm drain is NOT treated.) The runoff’s energy causes stream bank or lakeshore erosion, further polluting the body of water.
You can prevent a lot of problems by simply installing a rain barrel. Plus, you’ll benefit. It's estimated that during the hot summer months, the average homeowner uses 40 percent of the household water in the yard. While so much water may make for green lawns, that high water use is a huge drain on our already dwindling supply. Too often, rainwater becomes wasted water when it's channeled into already stressed sewer systems.
To save a little water from going down the drain, why not use a rain barrel! Rain barrels provide a simple, efficient, low-cost method for homeowners to collect and recycle water. They are simply large containers that capture rainwater at the end of your downspout. The water saved in rain barrels can be used for watering flowers, gardens and lawns all through the summer, even in times of drought. Reduced water demand will lower your use of municipal water supplies, saving you money.