Rain seems to bring out the gloom in a lot of people. Adults grumble about commuting in it or losing weekend plans to it, while children chant “Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day.” But if you’d like to save money on your utility bills and do your plants a favor at the same time, you don’t want that rain to go away — you want to store it, in the form of rain water harvesting.

Your Own Free Water Supply

Rain water harvesting can be an amazingly simple procedure. Get a large plastic barrel or garbage bin and cut a hole in the lid to receive the water. Connect your roof’s downspout to the hole, and you’ve got an efficient receptacle for storing rain water. Ideally your barrel will have a spigot toward the bottom for pouring the water into smaller vessels, but you can also do a little extra work to attach a PVC pipe and faucet system there instead. A few good downpours later, you have a significant extra water supply.

A World of Benefits

The most obvious benefit of rain water harvesting is the savings on your monthly water bill. A reasonably large barrel attached to a 1,500-square-foot home can easily capture 500 gallons of water. Look at one of your recent water bills and do the math on how much 500 gallons typically costs in your area. Harvesting rain water could have a substantial positive impact on your household budget.

You might argue that the water you collect won’t be drinkable — and it’s true that unfiltered and untreated water shouldn’t be consumed. But there are many other important uses for harvested rain water. For instance, why waste filtered, potable water on washing your car or driveway, which typically consumes a great deal of the stuff? Harvested water can get objects just as sparkling clean without costing you a penny.

You can save even more by using harvested rain water on your lawn and garden. Plants love rain water — in fact, the absence of chlorine makes rain water even healthier for your flora than drinking water. Better yet, you can stop worrying about water rationing because you’re no longer tapping the city’s water supply to keep your landscape green and lush.

 

Start With Your Gutters

Of course you won’t get barrels of free water unless your gutters can deliver that water to your rain barrel. You’ll also find that less debris in the barrel allows for better drainage from the spigot. So before you run out and buy any harvesting equipment, examine your gutters closely to see whether they can do the job. If they’re rusty or leaky, take the time to replace them before proceeding with your rain water harvesting plans. (You can always give the sections of retired gutter a second life as planters!).

 

If you have problems with debris accumulation in your gutters, invest in a cover such as the Moonworks Gutter Helmet, which extends the lip of the roof far enough over the gutter to keep most solid matter from entering. Contact Moonworks at 1-800-975-6666 to take the first step toward grabbing your very own free water. You’ll learn to love rainy days!