With the rising price of municipal water and the increasing awareness of water quality concerns, more and more people are turning to the harvesting of rainwater with rain barrels. A rain barrel collects and stores rainwater that would normally flow through your downspout into storm drains and from there directly into local waterways. Rain barrels reduce stream pollution from this storm water runoff. Collecting rainwater helps mitigate the amount of water that flows in “surges” into our rivers and streams during rain events. The incidence of sewer overflows can also be decreased by collecting storm water that would otherwise overload the combined sewer system.

According to Rain Brothers, local Columbus rain barrel makers, the average home in Columbus can collect over 22,000 gallons of water per year with a rain barrel system. Their rain barrels stand three feet high and hold 55 gallons of water, which can be used for watering your lawn, garden and house plants. You can choose to connect multiple rain barrels to one downspout in order to maximize water collection and re-use water at a larger scale. The top of the rain barrel has a basket to catch debris from the downspout, a spigot for garden hose attachment and an overflow hose at the top that can be used to drain to other rain barrels or into the yard. The Rain Brothers use recycled plastic drums to stay consistent with conservation values.

Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) offers a rain barrel cost share program with the City of Columbus. FLOW has organized a series of rain barrel workshops taking place in the spring and summer, where participants can learn about installation and get discounted rain barrels for $30 (a $50 savings over the retail cost). Rain Brothers provides the rain barrels for the cost share program. For more information visit www.olentangywatershed.org.

The Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District can provide additional information on rain barrels, such as where to go for information on workshops and a list of vendors. You can receive a free Backyard Conservation Handbook at the website.

Water is a precious resource that we can protect and conserve with simple solutions. Direct your downspout to a rain barrel and teach others in the community to do the same. By doing so, you will reap the benefits of saving money on your water bill, reducing the amount of water that the city needs to treat, and preventing water pollution from storm runoff.