Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Water an Essential Resource

Water is everywhere, it is abundant, assumed to be infinite and absolutely critical to sustain life. It falls to earth as rain, snow, and dew and is provided to most of us via our municipal water supply. To survive FEMA recommends: "You should have at least a three-day supply of water and you should store at least one gallon of water per person per day. A normally active person needs at least one-half gallon of water daily just for drinking." That does not include all the additional, extraneous, and frivolous ways we use water. I spent some time considering how to be a better steward of this life sustaining resource and made some changes in my life. This post will discuss one thing we have done to conserve water, prepare a bit for an "outage" and eventually save some money on our utility bill.

Earlier this month we purchased some 55 gallon plastic food grade barrels. Thus far we have converted two to catch rain water from our gutters. These "rain barrels" collect 55 gallons of water for every half inch of rain that falls. I was very surprised at just how much water came off a small portion of our roof! Here are pictures of the initial purchase and after it was plumbed and painted.
We inverted the barrels, cut a hole in the top, added a screen to keep out debris and mosquitoes, and positioned the gutter to empty right over the hole in the barrel. We have raised the barrels up off the ground and have added a short piece of hose to fill our watering can.























We are primarily using the rain barrels to water our garden. We get " chemical free water" at no charge and don't have to pay a sewage fee on the back end - sorry I couldn't resist the pun. What I have noticed is that by watering with a can instead of the hose is that my watering is much more specific. I am able to water the plants without watering everything else around the plants which wasted water. Depending on the amount of water in the barrel my watering can fills up anywhere from three minutes down to just over one minute when it is at capacity. It currently takes more time to water, but as soon as I purchase a second watering can one can be filling while the other is used for watering. This will reduce my watering time significantly.


If our water supply were ever to be disrupted we have an emergency supply to tide us over for a few days or even longer assuming we still have rain! You may be thinking, "you are not really going to drink "that" water are you?" It would not typically be my first choice, but as a backpacker I have enjoyed filtered water from sources far less "hygienic" than a rain barrel. I would certainly filter, boil or treat the water before drinking it but I would most certainly drink "that" water! Besides in a pinch we can use the water to flush toilets, wash clothes, and shower!

Because we are getting such a bounty from our two rain barrels our next project is to add an additional barrel in series to capture the excess water that we expect to have.

Thanks for reading!

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