Time To Harvest
The Laurel of Asheville
August 2008
Too early for harvest season, you say? Not for harvesting rain. Rain water harvesting can be done year-round, whether you live in the city or in the country. Installing a rain barrel is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to conserve water, help the environment, and keep your yard beautiful - even (perhaps especially) in a drought.
"The rain barrel is a good place to start," says Susan Roderick of Quality Forward which sells rain barrels to fund area tree plantings.
Rain barrels capture the runoff from rooftops and can be placed under one or several gutter downspouts to be reused for such nonpotable purposes as irrigation, washing vehicles, and watering container gardens. They can also help reduce flooding and erosion. For serious water conservationists, the barrels can even be plumbed to the inside of the house and reused for washing laundry or flushing toilets.
Rain barrels, often called cisterns or water harvesting systems, come in all sizes, starting at around 55 gallons all the way up to more than 10,000 gallons. For the individual homeowner, smaller cisterns are the best choice says Jennifer Woodruff, owner of Build It Naturally. Large water-harvesting systems can be used at construction sites to minmize erosion and eliminate polluted runoff into nearby streams and rivers. Underground systems can also be installed to serve a housing development. How big you want to go is up to you.
Craig Hanson, of AquaPro Solutions, says that one inch of rain on a 10-foot square roof can yield 50 gallons of collectable rainwater. Based on that formula, and Asheville's average rainfall of 47 inches, 2,350 gallons of rainwater can be collected per year from a roof that size. That's water the city doesn't have to filter and pump (which uses quite a bit of electricity) through the system.
Residential irrigation can account for 40 percent of domestic water consumption, says Zachary Guy of Appalachian Antique Hardwoods. His store sells quite a few reclaimed vintage whiskey rain barrels and says customers love the rustic look. "They reduce the demand for treated tap water and lower your monthly bill," he says.
With our extended period of drought, people are concerned about saving water, and rightly so. But the use of rain barrels is also about water management and can be practiced drought or no drought. Kevin Tate, owner of Otter and Arrow landscape architect firm works with developers, businesses, and residential clients to design and create environmentally sound outdoor spaces utilizing rain barrels, xeriscaping, and bioswales for sound water management.
"The drought is forcing people to think differently," says Ken. "Rain barrels make sense regardless of the conditions."
For more information, visit North Carolina State University's website on rainwater harvesting at bae.ncsu.edu/topic/waterharvesting.
