The Environment, Water Usage, and Using a Rain Barrel

Collecting falling water in a barrel or container is not a revolutionary new idea. The concept of a rain barrel and other types of rain catchers has been in use as long as agriculture... which is thousands of years. In the last century or so, however, households have increasingly relied on municipal water systems. Unfortunately, using falling rainwater is no longer widely done.
Everyone with a budget and a desire to take care of the environment wants to save energy and reduce their water usage. But many of those very same people do not even know about the existence of a rain barrel. A bulky, specially designed container, a rain barrel simply collects rainwater. They do this collection at the drain downspout of your homes drainage system. When it rains, the rain that falls on your roof will go into the gutters, through its drain, and out its downspout. This allows you to collect large amounts of rain water as it falls.
Ecological Benefits of a Rain Barres
Less storm runoff. Did you know that, though rain is good for an ecosystem, it can be bad for the environment? When it rains, the water that falls travels through our cities and streets before ending up on streams and creeks. In this process, rainwater picks up toxins, such as pesticides, pet waste, oil, etc. If you collect some of that rainwater instead of allowing it to flow away, you can reduce the pollution of our rivers.
Improved water efficiency. The greatest benefit you will see from utilizing a rain barrel is, of course, water usage. In the summer time, up to 40% of a households water usage goes to watering their garden and lawn. Because of this, there are yearly water shortages in many cities nationwide, with rationing programs and overuse fines. By catching rainwater, however, you can relive some of the burden on your citys water supply, as well as keep your garden and yard healthy and watered year round.
Reduced power usage. We hear more and more about how important it is to reduce our energy usage to protect the environment. But many of us do not consider the power usage implied by using municipal water. When we use water directly from our pipes, that water must be cleaned, filtered, and pumped all the way to us. In that process, a ton of energy is used, which in turn hurts the environment.
With the use of a rain barrel, you can recycle rainwater to save thousands of gallons of water and create a ready made source of water for your plants, lawn, or day to day jobs. The only job rainwater can not fill is satisfying your thirst. Other than that, using a rain barrel is perfect for cleaning your Camaro, watering your camillas... and protecting the Earth.

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