Rain Barrels for harvesting rain water

Welcome to the Clean Virginia Waterways' rain barrel information page. For other Clean Virginia Waterway programs and projects, click here. CVW's next "How to Make a Rain Barrel" workshop will be held in Farmville, VA in summer 2008. To receive more information, please send an email to cleanva@longwood.edu Please put "Rain Barrel" in the subject line.

Note: Clean Virginia Waterways staff are available to teach "Train-the-Trainer Workshops" to community groups, nonprofit organizations, and other groups that would like to host their own "Make a Rain Barrel Workshop". Call CVW at 434-395-2602 for details. These workshops are made possible thanks to a grant from the VA Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund (which is funded by Virginians who buy the Chesapeake Bay license plate) and the Virginia Environmental Endowment.

Positive Reasons to have Rain Barrels:

Your plants will love it
Rainwater has no added chemicals, is usually soft and free of dissolved minerals. This untreated water is great for your indoor plants, your garden and lawn, washing your car, and your birdbaths. (Water that is "softened" with chemicals is bad for plants due to salts that are dissolved in the water.)

You will be conserving water
Drought or no drought, we should all conserve water. Our groundwater and fresh water supplies are limited. So, as more people are using groundwater, we need to use it responsibly.

You will be reducing runoff
If your roof's area is 1,200 square feet (30 x 40 feet), then 1 inch of rain equals more than 700 gallons! You can harvest this rainwater which otherwise would be lost to runoff. To harvest even more rainwater, you can connect several barrels in a series and have 100s of gallons of water capacity.
· Runoff can cause erosion, plus carry fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals into streams where they are very damaging. Rain barrels help you manage peak storm runoff.
· An overflow hose, located at the top/back of the barrel, designates the direction of excess water to flow. It can be replaced with a hose of longer lengths, to divert overflow to a garden or distant runoff area.

Convenience
Water from rain barrels is easily accessible for various garden chores.
(Also, if you depend on electricity to run your well pump, this water is handy in power outages.)

Save Money
If you get your water from the town, why pay to water your gardens when you can collect hundreds of gallons at no cost?

Safety Notes
It is recommended that you cover the top of the rain barrel with metal hardware cloth or something similar to keep small children, pets and wildlife from falling into the barrel. As an alternative, you can drill large holes (1 to 2 inches in diameter) in the rain barrel’s lid. This will allow water to enter the barrel, but will prevent animals or children from falling through the screen.

Avoid Mosquitoes
Always cover the barrel with fine screening to keep mosquitoes out. If you empty your barrels every 7 days, you will not have a mosquito problem--remember, rain barrels are not meant to be long-term storage. If you are concerned, use small portions of Mosquito Dunks (available in hardware stores and on-line). These dunks slowly release the active ingredient, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that kills mosquito and black fly larvae for 30 days or more, and will not effect plants, people or wildlife. The dunks are made to cover 100 square feet each, so you do not have to use an entire dunk in a barrel.

TOOLS

· Power drill with hole bit (1/16 inch smaller than faucet insert) and pilot drill bit. (A ¾" faucet measures 1" on outside, so you need 15/16" hole bit)
· Pliers to tighten washers
· Paper towels (for excess caulk)
· Utility knife or small saber saw to cut lid
· Scissors to cut screening
· Hacksaw to shorten downspout
· Screwdriver for hose clamp

SUPPLIES

Barrel — Finding an adequate barrel to convert to a rain barrel is the HARDEST PART of this project! Best are the 45 to 55 gallon heavy-duty plastic barrels that are used to ship olives, peppers and other food stuffs to this country. In 2008, due to many reasons, demand for these barrels is very HIGH, and supply is very LOW. Companies that import food in these barrels have seen a dramatic decrease in the amount they can import due to many global weather problems as well as increased demand for food internationally. Clean Virginia Waterways spends a great deal of time trying to secure a supply of these reusable barrels for our workshops and the workshops held by CVW's partners in Virginia. Plastic trash cans are usually too thin to be good barrels. Some soft-drink bottling companies have barrels available at a small cost -- contact your local bottlers to learn if they have any available.

· A ¾" faucet (measures 1" on outside)
· 2 Washers and lock nut for the faucet
· Caulk (clear plumber's)
· Screening (buy a roll that is used to repair screen windows. Nylon fabric-like netting is better than the metal type)
· Metal Hardware Cloth (This metal mesh will keep children, pets and wildlife from falling into your barrel)
· Hose adapter for your overflow (many options here, depending on where you want your overflow to go).

· Washer and lock nut needed for the adapter.
· Hosing (short piece) to connect one barrel to another. Hose clamps as needed.
· Bricks or cinderblocks to raise your barrel above the ground (this will improve water pressure)

STEPS (Illustrated below with photos. If you are using a different type of barrel, you will have to adapt these directions):

1. Drill hole near bottom of barrel
2. Caulk around outside of hole
3. Screw faucet in (use washer)
4. Caulk inside, then put on lock nut with washer (use pliers)
5. Drill a hole near top for overflow
6. Put in a hose adapter for overflow. Use washers. Use pliers to tighten.
7. Cut out center of lid (or drill several 1 to 2 inch diameter holes into lid)
8. Cut screen and hardward cloth (metal mesh) larger than lid and put in place on top of barrel.
9. Level the dirt under the rain barrel, then add some sand
10. Rain barrels need to be higher than ground level—use bricks or cinder blocks
11. Measure and cut off part of downspout
12. Put the barrel in place
13. Connect the overflow from one barrel to the next, or have overflow hose divert excess rain to a garden or distant area of your choice, away from your home's foundation.

Tips for using your rain barrel

· Do not use collected water for drinking, cooking or bathing.
· Keep the lid secure so children or animals cannot fall into the barrel.
· Disconnect the barrel during the winter to avoid constant overflow during the rainiest months & freezing. Attach it in the early spring to fill it for use.
· Most recycled barrels need to be cleaned before first use.
· If a moss killer has been used on the roof let a couple of rainfall events go by before collecting the roof runoff.
· Elevate your rain barrel slightly to make access to the spigot easier and to increase water pressure.
· The screened top will prevent mosquitoes from breeding in your barrel.
· Consider joining multiple barrels for additional capacity!
· Use the collected water within a week --between rainy days.

Supplies: Rain barrels need faucets, washers, caulk and other items you can buy at any plumbing supply store.

 

To drill holes in your barrel, you will need a drill, hole bit and a pilot drill bit. Hole bits come in various sizes -- make sure you know the faucet's measurements before you buy a bit.

 

First, a faucet goes near the bottom of the barrel. Use clear caulk and washers on the inside and outside of the faucet. A lock nut is used inside the barrel to hold the faucet in tightly.   You will need to crawl into the barrel to attach the lock nut. Take a flashlight, rag, caulk, washer, plyers, and lock nut with you.

 

Then, you will need to provide for the overflow from the barrel. This allows you to connect a hose, so the overflow goes to a garden. Or, you can connect one barrel to another. If you use a hose-adapter for your overflow, you need to protect the threads as you screw it into place. Protect the threads by using a rag or pipe cap before you use pliers.

 

Some barrels have solid tops, while others have screw-on rings that are open in the center. If your barrel top is solid, cut the center of the top out using a utility knife. Leave the lid in the sun first to soften it. Later, you will put a piece of screen over the barrel to keep mosquitos and leaves out of the water. The top will hold the screen in place. Secure metal hardware cloth over the top to keep children, pets and wildlife from falling into the barrel. Replace the screen every two or three years.

 

Build a base for your barrel. Bricks and cinderblocks work well. Remember-- a gallon of water weighs over 8 pounds, so a full rain barrel will be heavy. Make sure your base is big and strong enough -- you don't want your rain barrel to tip over because of an inadequate base. Measure & cut off a portion of your downspout. Keep the downspout piece that you are removing -- you can use it in the winter when your rain barrel is in storage.   The higher the barrels, the more water pressure you will have.

 

These barrels will both be full with just 1/5 of an inch of rain! Fill your watering cans, or hook a hose to the faucet. Look for "low pressure" sprinklers if you want to water a garden. Use the water within a week or so -- this is not meant to be long-term water storage. Replace the netting every two or three years to keep mosquitos out.

Back to Clean Virginia Waterways' Home Page

Compiled by Clean Virginia Waterways, Longwood University, Farmville, VA 23909
Phone: 434-395-2602 Fax: 434-395-2825 Email: cleanva@longwood.edu