As we’ve developed the landscape, we’ve also dramatically altered the path those raindrops take.  Now they fall on roofs, continue over driveways and lawns, down sidewalks, streets, and other impervious surfaces. Rain becomes runoff, picking up pollutants like grease, oil, pesticides, fertilizers, and pet waste along the way before entering storm drains that lead to nearby bodies of water. The toxic buildup harms aquatic life and animals that visit for a drink and creates challenges for water treatment facilities.

Storm runoff can also erode landscapes and contribute to flooding. While rainstorms may not seem like they’re producing a lot of water, according to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources factsheet, an inch of rain on 1,000 square feet is approximately 600 gallons of water.  Instead of letting the rainwater go to waste, why not trap the water with a rain garden and grow something that beautifies your landscape and helps keep your local waterways cleaner in the process?

The Solution for Slowing and Filtering Storm Runoff: a Rain Garden

According to the Pittsburgh-based Green Building Alliance, the concept of rain gardens originated in 1990 in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where a developer designed a nature-based system that mimics naturally occurring water filtration. Each home in the subdivision had a 300- to 400-square-foot rain garden. The project showed immediate results in reducing stormwater runoff. Since then, rain gardens have gained popularity and remain one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to restore the natural water process.

A rain garden is a shallow vegetated basin located in well-draining ground, usually on a slope. When filled with deep-rooted, moisture-loving plants, it is designed to intercept and temporarily capture stormwater runoff and snowmelt from roofs and non-porous surfaces, such as driveways and patios. The rain garden allows the water to percolate slowly into the soil, while the plants work to absorb contaminants before it reaches groundwater aquifers.

With some basic tools, a bit of planning, and a weekend or two of work, you can turn a water-logged area of your yard into a beautiful and eco-friendly asset. A rain garden can be as simple as adding plants to help absorb the water in a low spot where stormwater from your yard or downspouts can percolate down through the soil, rather than leave your property as runoff.  During a storm, the rain garden fills with water that slowly seeps into the ground, allowing the soil and plant roots to filter and remove surface pollutants. It is not a mosquito attractant. The water is soaked up within 24 hours, which is not long enough for mosquitoes to complete their breeding cycle.

Choosing the Location

Rain gardens can be located near the house to catch runoff from the roof,  or a low spot farther out into the property that collects water from the lawn, roof, or driveway. Keep in mind that they should be located at least 10 feet from the house (so infiltrating water can’t seep into the foundation) on a gentle slope where water tends to collect. When considering placement and design of your rain garden, consider how the rain garden can be integrated into existing and future landscaping, outdoor gathering spaces, or children’s play areas. Choose an area that receives full or partial sun to grow healthy plants and help evaporate standing water.

Getting Down to Work

The depression should ideally be at least four inches below the turf level of your lawn. If you are unsure about what could be below the area where you plan to dig, call 811  to request that the approximate location of buried utilities be marked with paint or flags so that you don’t unintentionally dig into one! There is no charge for this public service, and skipping it could be a costly mistake! Outline the shape of the garden using spray paint or a garden hose. The depth of the garden is important. Since they do not hold water or pool it for more than several hours after a storm, digging a flat depression 4 to 8 inches deeper than the surrounding ground will be enough to catch the water and allow it to trickle down into the soil. The steeper your yard’s existing slope, the bigger the flow of unabsorbed water, so the garden’s bottom will need to be deeper to compensate.  If the slope is less than 4 percent slope, the depth should be 4 inches; 5 to 7 percent slope, the depth should be 6 inches; and 8 to 12 percent slope, the depth should be 8 inches. There are many websites that delve deeper into the details, should you need them.

There is no “right” size or shape—you can start small and expand it over time. While digging the rain garden, pile the dirt around the edge where the berm will be. (The berm is a low “wall” around three sides of the rain garden that holds the water in during a storm.) On a steeper lawn, the lower part of the rain garden can be filled in with soil from the uphill half; extra soil might need to be brought in for the berm.

You can plant a rain garden anytime, but keep in mind that planting during the dry season will make frequent watering essential until the young plants are established. Adding compost and sand to the soil will increase its ability to absorb water. The type of alteration to the soil depends on the current soil type, so it’s a good idea to obtain a soil test. (Collect a soil sample and send it to a local soil testing lab or your county extension office. Make sure to follow their instructions for sampling and submission to get accurate results.) Native plants are the best choice for rain gardens. They are hardy and have adapted to your region’s climate, soil type, and growing conditions. Consult your local nursery or county extension office to find out which native shrubs, perennials, and flowers are best for your area. When choosing plants, consider height, space requirements at maturity, and color. Keep in mind that a diversity of plants is pleasing to the eye, beneficial to wildlife, and creates a strong root system that will resist erosion and inhibit weed growth.

Rain Gardens Are Low Maintenance

When native plants are used, your rain garden will not require pesticides or fertilizer. During the first or second year, occasional watering may be necessary, particularly during periods of low rainfall. Likewise, some weeding might be needed, but once the plants take hold and grow, they will eventually out-compete the weeds. Once the plants are well established, your rain garden can be maintained with little effort. Like any garden, it can be dynamic as you add new plants or remove plants that don’t do well. In my area, deer are a major problem, so plants need to be deer resistant.

By reducing stormwater runoff, rain gardens can play a valuable role in preventing flooding, reducing erosion, filtering pollutants out of the water, and allowing more water to soak into underground aquifers. As an added bonus, rain gardens provide native habitat for birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and food for pollinators. They also provide shade for turtles, toads, and rabbits. But most of all, in creating a rain garden, you will be playing an active role in lessening the impact of the storm runoff generated by your house, carport/garage, driveway, and sheds.

Our Earth provides us with water. It’s our responsibility to protect and preserve all natural resources for current and future generations. Our actions, no matter how seemingly small, have an impact on the delicate balance of ecosystems and the overall health of the Earth.

For Further Reading

Rain Gardens: A How-To Manual for Homeowners – Comprehensive, 32-page how-to manual.

National Audubon Society Native Plants Database – An excellent source to find native plants suitable to your region’s climate.

The post Rain Gardens Enhance Your Landscape and Improve Water Quality appeared first on Homestead.org.

There are some of us who consider that wonderland to be a nightmare, however.  Uncomfortable with the fragile dependency that such a grid-dependent life requires, some folks have chosen a direct about-face and are living off-grid in the 21st century.  The motivating forces behind such a counter-cultural decision are as diverse as the people who choose it, whether they want to be in control of their resources, be more sustainable, keep historical ways alive, or just want to be left alone in a remote location.

As a result, the manifestation of that self-sufficient desire is equally as personalized.  For the intrepid experimenter who just wants to get started on their own journey, however, sometimes it can be intimidating to figure out where, exactly, to start.  Particularly if you haven’t yet found your land or are butting heads with an HOA regarding your non-conventional approach to life, trying to learn off-grid skills can sometimes feel like an insurmountable challenge.

I know the feeling.  My husband and I have been slowly but surely switching from city-service dependency to off-grid self-sufficiency.  We started this lifestyle change years before we finally found our acreage—practicing skills, and gaining experience even though we were living in an inner-city house on a postage stamp of land.  In doing so, we learned a lot about how to change our mindsets as much as we changed our habits.  It’s important for those starting out to note that choosing to live off-grid is more than just a hobby: it’s a complete lifestyle change that is years in the making.  So, here are a few ideas we used along the way that you can use to practice living off-grid wherever you are.

Evaluate Your Resources

One of the first steps of off-grid living is to identify The Grid itself and how it has been interwoven into your lifestyle.  You’ll have to mindfully look at the way you live.  As you do, you will start discovering all the invisible, out-of-your-control ties that link you to a power grid, city water systems, food transport, or waste management.

The desire to separate from these systems of support requires you to start becoming the captain of your own ship, so to speak.  It is exhilarating to be able to break free from being at the mercy of power outages or water bills.  In order to get to that point, however, a lot… and I mean, a LOT of work needs to go into your personal declaration of independence.  Turn it into a self-directed study: educate yourself on how The Grid works, take the time to learn about the huge array of alternate solutions, and try not to get involved in too many debates online about what “Off-Grid” really means in the meantime.  Everyone has their own “perfect” definition—the important thing is to decide and to commit to yours.

Manual Tools

Once you start identifying where you are depending on the Grid, you can start severing the unnecessary ties that link you to it.  Remember, all of worldwide humanity was able to exist for millennia without it—you can too!  One of the easiest places to start is with your appliances.  Switch out that electric coffee maker for a French press.  Trade your bread machine for a good arm workout.  Donate your microwave and make much better food without it.  Try mowing the lawn with a push mower, or confuse the joggers when you step out in the early dawn with a scythe (my favorite method of plant management!).  If there is a task that you are currently doing only by the power of a machine, try to see how you can do it manually… or even go without it! You may find that there is some quiet pleasure to be found in the simple task of just doing things for yourself, even if that’s just whisking the butter and sugar together for cookies rather than running the hand mixer.

Many old-fashioned manual tools can be found cheaply at antique stores or even at thrift stores, but you need to know what to look for to spot the treasure hidden among the plastic junk.  EBay can also offer some incredible discoveries.  Some modern stores, such as Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio, also specialize in manual tools, often carrying products—and advice about them—that just can’t be found elsewhere.

These changes are very small, admittedly, but they start the process.  During the early stages of the off-grid transition, the mental adjustment is even more important than the physical changes.  If you are ready to take on the challenge and literally put things back in your own hands, you’ll be able to approach the much more difficult challenges on the road ahead.

Off-Grid Laundry

Laundry can be a huge way to start thinking and acting with an off-grid perspective.  Washing machines and driers are—frankly—huge, wasteful machines that we have learned to “need,” but that we can do much better without.  You will have cleaner clothes, more space in your house, a much lower electricity bill, and a much more can-do attitude, guaranteed.

First, sell your dryer and learn how to line-dry your clothes.  If you have the space for it in your yard, a clothesline will both dry and sun-sanitize clothing year-round. There’s a learning curve to it, of course, and sometimes you will be at the mercy of the weather.  But the more you do it, the more naturally it will come.  If you don’t have a yard, you can still dry clothes with an indoor clothes-drying rack—there are many styles and shapes that can be easily folded away when not in use.

(And don’t accept any protests about “crunchy towels” like I’ve heard from many detractors to my clothesline.  If a slightly stiff, sun-dried towel is too big a hurdle for you to accept, then the off-grid life just isn’t for you!)

Once you get your clothesline game going strong, it’s time to put the washing machine on your local Craigslist and learn to do some manual laundry.  You may wonder how in the world the mountain of clothes a family generates could possibly be washed by hand, and I am here to personally tell you that it is possible, and I don’t spend every waking moment of my life washing clothes, either.  There are many ways to approach this chore—here are two tips I would give anyone trying it out:

First, stop making so much laundry in the first place.  A washing machine is a crutch that teaches you that a towel used to dry off after showering is “dirty” and needs to be cleaned.  I guarantee, once you start washing by hand, you will be a lot more discerning about what goes in the hamper.  Many items merely need to be dried—better yet, dried in the sun—and then are perfectly suited to keep on being used until they’re actually dirty.  Don’t toss a shirt into the pile unless it actually smells.  If the jeans you got muddy today are just going to get muddy tomorrow when you return to the same project, they don’t need to be washed that evening!  You’ll figure out your own house rules to suit your lifestyle.

Second, try to find a good, solid washing plunger.  These are often hiding in the corners of antique malls.  I have gone through numerous off-grid laundry devices, and they have all paled in comparison to this super-simple, sturdy tool.  Paired with a 5-gallon bucket and a washing board, you will have clothes cleaner than any machine could ever do, and faster, too.  On top of all that, you’ll be using hundreds of gallons of water LESS every month—excellent practice for when you get your water off-grid!  If you want specifics on how I wash laundry with this system, let me know in the comments below and I’ll fill you in!

Woodstoves

A woodstove isn’t merely a touch of primitive charm in the corner of a house.  For many an off-grid home, it is the glowing, beating heart.  Using a woodstove teaches you a huge array of lessons often necessary to the off-grid life.  From chopping, seasoning, and storing wood, keeping the rhythm of tending a warm fire going all day, using it as a clothes-drier (just string a clothesline above it!), a hot water tank (many woodstoves can be adapted to warm shower water), or even cooking on it (our favorite dinner is a cooked-all-day beef stew, succulently simmered atop a blazing woodstove)—a woodstove is the perfect “gateway” lifestyle change that can really set you down a path of independence.

I have one word to the wise, however.  If you are planning to move away from your current location to pursue the off-grid dream, installing a woodstove may make your current house a little harder to sell.  This isn’t to say you should write off suburban woodstoves entirely—we had a woodstove in our inner-city house, and we loved it!  It did take longer to find a buyer for our property who valued it as much as we did, though.

Water

Though taking your water off-grid is often just not possible if you don’t have your own land, there are several changes to your routine that can get you ready for when that day comes.

First, learn to stop wasting water.  Trust me, as someone who uses rain barrels and a manual pump for 100% of my family’s water, the idea of a hose running unattended, or a sink faucet running on full blast while doing dishes makes my eye start to twitch.  The average American uses a staggering 80-100 gallons of water a day—a totally unsustainable amount for pretty much any off-grid system.  The good news is, however, that humans need far, far less water to live comfortably and cleanly.

One way to use less water is to “cascade” your water use.  I got this term from Art Ludwig’s Create an Oasis From Greywater, and I use the philosophy daily.  Basically, it means to use water multiple times for the progressively “dirtier” tasks that suit it.  For example, if I used a pot of clean water to incubate yogurt, I can then heat that same water to wash dishes before I send it on its way.  Or, the water used to wash hands can then be used to flush a toilet or to water the plants on the porch.  The rinse-water from one load of manual laundry can become the wash water for the next load.  The more you pay attention to your water use, the more you will innovate creative ways to use it well.

If you have a bit of land to work with, you can also install a rain barrel to take your gardening water or chicken-watering off the grid.  There are many designs for this online, and it’s a project that can easily be completed in a weekend.  We keep multiple rain barrels connected to the gutters of every animal shelter in our rain-catchment system—it makes getting them their daily H2O an absolute breeze!

Bonus Off-Grid Skill: Self-Employment

I list this one as the bonus because it probably sounds like an ambitious one.  It is possible, however, to achieve freedom from the daily 9-5 grind no matter where you are.  Being your own boss requires a ton of discipline, forethought, and hard work—all skills needed for the intrepid off-grid family.  As a trade-off, however, you will be free from the much more psychological grid of a job that has you spending your time—your most precious asset—filling the coffers of a company, rather than with your family and land.  Maintaining an off-grid lifestyle requires that time, whether you go for the high-tech version with solar panels and wind turbines or the humble, more rustic model of oil lamps and bucket-lugging.  Being able to choose how to spend those irreplaceable hours is one of the biggest freedoms of all.

So even if you’re currently in a “normal” job, try experimenting with non-traditional ways to make money.  Whether you can paint portraits, be a handyman, run your own lawn-care business, try out market gardening, sell carved wooden spoons, or write articles online, if you try hard enough and push past the inevitable initial failures, you can find your niche and make a living.

Obviously, this article isn’t enough information for mastery of any of these topics, but I hope it can be an encouragement and inspiration for the off-grid novice.  If you want to get off-grid, the time to start is now—and maybe one of these points is just the challenge to get you rolling.

There’s much, much more to the full off-grid life than just these topics, of course—the more you learn, the more you’ll figure out how much more you need to learn.  The pursuit is truly an adventure, though.  As you reclaim more and more off-grid skills for yourself and your family, you will start to feel an indescribable feeling of freedom and self-sufficiency that only a few still know, even though these are skills that every human once owned until a few hundred years ago.  Though it is a lot of work to uncover them—and trust me, I’m still learning more every season myself—I can personally vouch that it is worth it.  I wouldn’t want to live any other life!

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About the Author: First, Wren was an environmental educator and language teacher living in the city.  Then, she and her husband decided to escape from the confines of city life and its dependence, and move their family to 12 acres of land in the Ozarks. They are currently in the middle of establishing their dream of a self-sufficient, permaculture-based, off-grid homestead, one step at a time. She can be typically found armpit-deep in brush foraging, cooking on cast iron, talking to her ducks and chickens, pumping yet another bucket of water from the well, and, in quiet moments, sketching art around the homestead.

The post Living Off-Grid Wherever You Are – Going Off-Grid Gradually appeared first on Homestead.org.

After all, the harvested rainwater can help keep your water bills low all year long. And with bigger or several barrels, you can preserve more than enough water for your household. Even though harvesting rainwater is the cheapest and easiest way to get clean water, there are several limitations to collecting water using this method. So before installing a few rain barrels on your homestead, you should consider the following pros and cons of owning a rain barrel.

Pros of Owning a Rain Barrel

1. A Great Way to Save Water for Your Plants During the Dry Season

With a rain barrel, you can harvest more than enough water to use in your home and water your garden. Compared to tap water, rainwater is naturally softened water that doesn’t have calcium, lime, fluoride, or chlorine; rainwater is the best option for your plants. After all, the water companies add these chemicals to help make tap water safer for human consumption. Unfortunately, these chemicals in tap water can cause stunted growth in some plants.

But with rainwater, you will never have to worry about stunted growth or high water bills. The collected soft water can keep your plants thriving and your lawn green all summer long. Rainwater might be all-natural, but if the air in your hometown is highly polluted, you should consider using filters, even if the harvested water is just for watering your garden. After all, the cleaner water, the more beneficial to your garden than polluted or chlorinated water.

2. Rain Barrels Provide an Ideal Way to Get Additional Water to Use in Your Home

With rain barrels, you have an opportunity to collect and save water for future use in your home. Other than watering your plants, even the drought-resistant plants, the harvested water can be used to clean the house, wash your car, wash your clothes, and even flush the toilet. You can also use the collected water to refill your swimming pool after the water level reduces because of the high evaporation rate.

3. Harvesting Rainwater Will Help Lower Your Water Bills

Harvesting rainwater every time it rains means that you will have more water to handle most of the work at home; therefore, you will never have to worry about high water bills. In fact, most people install rain barrels to help them spend less on water. And that is because; you will have fresh water in your barrels to use around the house. And by returning cash into your wallet every month, the rainwater harvesting system is that it will repay itself in no time.

4. Rain Barrels are Low-maintenance Items

Unlike other rainwater harvesting systems, rain barrels are low-maintenance items. After installing your barrels, gutter, and downspouts, the maintenance and repair costs can be quite low. Plus, you will never have to inspect your barrel all the time, particularly if the harvested water is not for human consumption. And that is because you won’t have to purify the water. And if you decide to purify the collected water, the purification cost can be lower than your monthly water bills.

5. Rain Barrels are Easy to Install

Empty water barrels are lightweight items that can be easily moved from one place to the other. And if you already have some gutters on your roof, installing downspouts directly to where you plan on collecting the water from is quite easy. In most cases, all you have to do is cut the downspouts and put the rain barrels beneath them. The fact that most barrels are recycled means that you will be diverting the waste from the landfills and using them at home.

6. Installing Rain Barrels can Prevent Soil Erosion and Puddling on Your Homestead

When rainwater hits the ground directly from your roof, it can cause soil erosion and even leave paddles in your backyard. And this can be quite dangerous to your home’s foundation. So channeling rainwater to the barrels can help keep your homestead safe and reduce the moisture content near your home’s foundation.

Cons of Owning a Rain Barrel

1. The Collected Water is Not Clean Enough for Drinking

Despite being softer than other sources of water, rainwater is not clean enough for human consumption. So you have to install the recommended cleaners and filters if you plan on drinking the harvested water. With the right filters, you can channel the water to the house for home usage, which means more expenditure.

2. To Collect Enough Water, You Will Need More Barrels

Rain barrels are smaller in size than most water tanks; therefore, they will limit your potential to harvest more water. So to get more than enough water for your entire household, you will have to connect numerous rain barrels. Unfortunately, the more connection points you have, the higher the likelihood of getting leakages or system failure. This means that you have to pay more to collect more water which can be disadvantageous to some people.

3. You May Struggle to Fill Your Barrels During the Dry Seasons

Thanks to the little to no rain that falls during the dry seasons, refilling or even keeping water in these barrels can be quite challenging. Therefore, you might not have enough water to water your garden even before the dry season ends. This can be a great issue if you plan on watering your plants in summer. So you might need bigger barrels to save more water.

Final Thoughts

Going green has numerous benefits, including lowering your expenses while ensuring that your family is safe. And by harvesting rainwater using barrels, you will lower your water bills and have more than enough fresh water for your plants. And with the pros outweighing the cons, installing rain barrels can help you become self-sufficient and enjoy fresh veggies and fruits that have been grown using chemical-free water.

The post Pros and Cons of Owning a Rain Barrel on the Homestead appeared first on Homestead.org.

If you need some convincing that rainwater catchment is a worthwhile project, consider the following benefits:

• It may be the only source of water: We’ve all heard that you can only survive for three days without water.  In some arid or island regions, rain collection might be the only source of potable water.  In Tucson, Arizona, the water table has dropped 300 feet in the past 100 years and the water is becoming more saline.  Ninety percent of the fresh waterways are gone.  For others, rain barrels might be the only source of water during an emergency, such as a long power outage.  When the electricity goes out, our well-pump goes with it (the well is too deep for a hand pump); we have stored some water, but our rain barrels provide an additional source.
• Saves money: You’ll be saving on your water and/or electric bill and that’s always a plus.  Rainwater is low in minerals, making it ideal for laundry, car, and dishwashing, and bathing.  Its lack of chlorine also makes it ideal for ponds and sensitive plants.  A British study found that new homes with underground tanks were able to reduce their consumption of mains water by 50%.
• Protects house and landscaping: Rain catchment helps to control storm-water, which in turn helps to prevent soil erosion, leaky basements, foundation issues, and overtaxed sewers.  Furthermore, collected rainwater can still be used during water bans, allowing you to protect landscaping investments in drought conditions.
• Protects local and regional environment: Making use of rainwater helps to reduce the amount of water extracted from local rivers, waterways, and water tables.  In turn, ecosystems remain healthy and viable if water levels remain adequate.  Local governments are starting to understand this; Portland and Seattle have begun to encourage rain harvesting in order to protect salmon populations and Maryland is working to protect the Chesapeake Bay.

The Eight Principles for Designing a Rainwater Catchment System

There are two main ways to collect rainwater on your property: earthworks and man-made systems such as barrels.  Rainwater expert, Brad Lancaster, offers eight principles to consider when planning for water management on your land.

1. Observe how water flows on your property.  Are there places where the water flows swiftly, causing erosion problems?  Are there places where the water gathers, keeping the soil saturated?  Are there places where it would be easy to collect water?
2. Start at the high point of your property (obviously, water flows down).  For most of us, this would be our roof but it could be anything from hills, banks, or our neighbor’s overhanging trees.  Where does the water flow as it journeys down your property?  How close to “the top” can you begin catching the water?
3. Start small and simple.  With rain catchment, it’s good to use lots of different “systems” and tools.  Keep things doable and repairable.  Have back-up systems for your back-up systems.
4. Spread and infiltrate the flow of water.  Keep the water on your property for as long as possible; collect it and allow it to sink into the soil.
5. Plan for, and make use of, the overflow.  If you’re in a dry area, you’re going to have sudden, strong thunderstorms.  If you’re in a wet climate, you’re going to have long periods of rain where the soil will become too saturated and the rain will run-off.  In both cases, you need to plan for this overflow and find ways to utilize it.
6. Avoid bare soil.  Use ground covers, which act as sponges and give the soil time to absorb the water.
7. Maximize beneficial relationships and efficiency in your system.  Systems can do more than just collect rainwater.  For instance, you might build a rain garden in a naturally soggy place on your property; this might eventually evolve into a small pond that could hold some fish.  Or consider planting water-hungry plants around your rain barrel; they can catch any drips from the spigot and you’ll be better able to keep up with their water needs instead of finding them shriveled up in the noonday heat.
8. Continually reassess your system.  Are there more ways you can utilize the rainwater?  Are you dealing with overflow properly?  Are there plants you could move that could make use of your rain collection?

Making Use of Earthworks for Rain Catchment

The first method to consider for collecting rainwater is through the use of earthworks: rain gardens, basins, swales, berms, drains, terraces, and check dams.  Rain gardens are becoming more common in public areas like grocery stores, parks, and within traffic circles and are simply shallow depressions that are planted with deep-rooted (preferably native) plants and that collect rainwater.  These gardens reduce damage from storm-water, filter pollution from the water before it reaches the underground streams, and provide a habitat for wildlife.

Like the rain garden, a basin (or swale), is a low area used to collect rainwater and reduce erosion and flooding.  Oftentimes, moisture-loving plants are placed within and are naturally watered.  What’s the difference between the two?  A basin is a bowl-like structure and a swale is usually longer and follows the contour of the land.  A basin can be very useful in allowing the water to “sit” long enough for it to infiltrate the soil.  A swale can be very effective in diverting water away from places such as the foundation of buildings.  For practicality, basins and swales are often surrounded by berms, a raised mound of soil, which can be used as pathways and/or planting beds for plants that like drier roots.

Other earthworks to consider incorporating into your water management system are terraces, French drains, and check dams.  Most of us are familiar with the rice terraces of Asia but even small-scale use of terraces can allow some of us mountain-folk to make greater use of our land.  For more examples of an incredible use of terraces in mountain regions, check out the Austrian farmer, Sepp Holzer.  Finally, a French drain (a trench filled with rock or gravel) and check dams (low, pervious dams) can be used to reroute or slow down water paths on your property.

Man-made Systems for Collecting Rainwater

Now on to man-made systems.  There are some simple tools that can help you to immediately make use of rainwater.  There is the Rain Saucer, which looks like an upside-down umbrella that funnels water into a barrel.  There is also the Groasis Box, which catches water, prevents evaporation, and protects young plants—allowing for greater growing options in arid places.  But for most of us, installing rain barrels and cisterns are going to be the most effective options.  I’ll be covering rain barrel installation since this is the cheapest and quickest.

Before setting up your barrel, check into local regulations.  In some states, collecting rainwater is illegal because it violates water rights.  On the other hand, places like Texas offer tax incentives for rainwater-catchment equipment and Tucson, Arizona is requiring all new dwellings to have a rainwater harvesting system.

Your next consideration is how large of a system is needed.  The average American uses 70 gallons of water, per person, per day.  With modern appliances and by repairing leaks, that number can drop to 50 gallons.  A useful formula is as follows: collectible rainwater gallons = .05 X rainfall inches X area (square feet).  Generally speaking, the western states annually receive 5-15 gallons per square foot of roof, the central states, 20-40, and the eastern states, 3-50.  So, for instance, a person living in the east would need 500 square feet of roof and 1,000 gallons of storage space whereas a person in the west would need 1,000 square feet of roof and 4,000 gallons of storage.

If you’re looking to just supply your garden’s watering needs, there is another useful formula: dry climate plants = 0.3 X area; temperate climate plants (such as vegetables) = 0.6 X area; and wet climate plants = 0.9 X area.  For example, a 10-foot by 10-foot vegetable garden in an eastern state would need about 60 gallons of water per week (0.6 X 100 square feet); this could be supplied by a small roof and a few barrels.

Unfortunately, these calculations are complicated by the fact that the western states generally receive their rainfall in the winter and the central states receive most of their rainfall in the summer.  The eastern states are lucky to receive an evenly distributed rainfall.

Rain collection systems often make use of three types of filters: sediment filter, activated carbon cartridges, and UV sterilizers.  The sediment filters are usually screened filter baskets that remove large solids.  Carbon cartridges can remove organic matter and prevent discoloration and odors.  Finally, UV sterilizers contain a UV-emitting lamp that kills microorganisms so that the water is drinkable.  However, it requires more maintenance as the mineral deposits build up.

Our Rain Catchment System

Our particular location in the Appalachians receives nearly 80 inches of rain annually and we have a well, so our purpose in installing rain barrels was to reduce electricity costs from having to run the well pump and to have a back-up water system in case we have a power outage (which is pretty common around here).  We chose the Fiskars DiverterPro because it has a built-in automatic overflow; once the barrel is full, the water is diverted back into the downspout.  We also like that it is a totally closed system so we don’t have to worry about things such as mosquito larva.  It does have a filter, which rarely requires cleaning.  This provides for the water needs of our garden and livestock and then some.  However, if we did need to drink the water, we have a DIY water filter with a Berkey purifier or we could boil it on the woodstove, the regular stove, or in the solar oven.  We got our barrels free from a local company that makes herbal tinctures.  I have also seen them available on Freecycle.org.

1. The rain barrel should be level and on solid ground or a stand.  The tubing from the downspout must enter the barrel in a straight horizontal line.
2. Place a level from the top of the barrel to the downspout and draw a line on the downspout along the bottom of the level.
3. Make a second mark 2.25 inches above the first mark.  Make a third mark 3.5 inches below the first mark. There should be 10.25 inches between mark two and mark three.  Cut through the downspout at mark two and mark three.

4. Remove the piece of downspout.  Connect the diverter on the bottom piece of the downspout then connect the diverter to the top piece of the downspout.

5. Because we were using a repurposed barrel, we had to drill a hole to accommodate the hose connector.  The hole should be drilled in line with the hose connector on the diverter.
6. In order to secure the hose connector for the barrel, it was necessary to fish the hose connector nut through one of the threaded openings at the bottom of the barrel.  We passed a string through the hose connector and barrel hole and out to the bottom of the barrel, through the threaded cap.

7. We then passed the string through the nut and tied it to a washer that was larger than the nut.  Next, the nut and washer were pulled up to the threaded portion of the hose connector inside the barrel.  The washer enabled us to keep the nut tight against the inside of the barrel so we could tighten the nut by turning the hose connector.
8. Next, cut the connecting tube to the length needed. Connect the tube to the hose connector on the diverter and to the hose connector on the barrel.
9. Finally, thread a 3/4-inch pipe into the hole in the threaded cap and connect the spigot to the pipe.  You can thread an elbow and another length of pipe onto the first pipe and then attach the spigot.

We all have so many projects on our to-do lists but installing some rain catchment barrels is a project you can check-off pretty quickly.  There are many benefits that come with rainwater catchment project: having an emergency water source, saving money, making gardening easier, just to name a few.  So add this to your list and then sit back and enjoy the next rainstorm.

Sources:

conservationtechnology.com

harvestingrainwater.com

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