Rainbarrels

desertgirl 4/21/2010, 2:28 pm

Love the idea, but it hardly ever rains here in Albuquerque. Why do I see so many?

Retired Member 1 4/21/2010, 7:17 pm

Because when it does rain, folks like to catch what the can to use in their garden. 1" of rain on 1 square foot of surface yields 6/10ths a gallon of water. Doesn't sound like much, but a 1200 sf house will provide over 700 gallons of water per inch of rain. Folks living in desert areas like to conserve as much water as possible. Where is live is not as dry, but water is at a premium so I catch as much as I can.

desertgirl 4/21/2010, 7:40 pm

We do indeed value any moisture we can get, but we often go months with minimal rain. Wouldn't just evaporate befor I can use it?

Retired Member 1 4/22/2010, 9:46 am

No it wouldn't evaporate since it would be closed. My system is larger than a rain barrel (550 gal poly tank), but I don't see any evaporation even through our long hot dry spells (which can last 3 months). Also, if you have a small system, you'd use the water long before it had a chance to evaporate. And rain water is so much better for the garden than city water.

nancy 4/22/2010, 10:02 am

I was going to say the same thing as Ms. Bat - I use mine long before it evaporates. I have to lug my water to my garden and I use 5 milk jugs. With a 55-gallon rainbarrel, I get approximately 10 days worth of water from it if it is full. I bet I only have 4 days of water left in it. We are supposed to get rain tomorrow & Saturday - I hope we get enough to fill it back up. I highly recommend one! (Even for those in parts of Colorado where they are illegal!) Rainbarrels Icon_cool

desertgirl 4/22/2010, 10:36 am

Illegal? Really? Why?

nancy 4/22/2010, 10:54 am

In the mid 1800s the boys in power in Colorado sold the rights to the water that falls from the sky. So it does not actually belong to the residents on whose roof it falls. That may no longer be true. They may have recently changed it, but when I was researching them before I got mine (a year ago) I found lots of interesting articles about Colorado's ban. Entertaining reading at the time!

desertgirl 4/22/2010, 10:55 am

Unbelievable. It is probably legal now, but you have to pay taxes on it! Rainbarrels Icon_mad

Wyldflower 4/22/2010, 12:19 pm

It's still illegal.. though the authorities basically turn a blind eye. There are pilot programs, and in some neighborhoods in Colorado Springs, one can have a rain barrel - I'm not in one of those neighborhoods though. (I'm thinking about putting one in anyway).
Article in CS Gazette last summer

oh... and about taxation? There was a 'Stormwater Enterprise zone' that charged a fee, based on how much hard surface your property has - mine was $125 last year - but it was voted down in the last election, so no more tax on water runoff (which we don't own, anyway, because this is Colorado!)

Retired Member 1 4/22/2010, 1:46 pm

I think the rationale behind the ban on water catchment systems was that if too many folks caught the water it would negatively affect the water table. But apparently the idjits didn't take into consideration the fact that if folks caught their own water, they'd be using less from the water table. Thankfully, in Texas, water catchment systems are being promoted by the State to save the underground supplies.

organicgardeningzen.com 4/22/2010, 10:31 pm

Not to mention, once you USE the caught water, say, on your lawn or in your SFG, doesn't it then make it's way to the water table? So aren't we just "temporarily storing" water rather than "removing it" from the water cycle?

I suspect that local/government restrictions on rainwater harvesting is more about the money than the environment...

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