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Letter to the editor

Waste rainwater? Not anymore

Using a rain barrel is a low-tech way for homeowners to do their part to conserve a precious resource.

By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published June 22, 2007

One of Kerry Conner's favorite childhood memories is as a 7-year-old, stepping up on the wooden stool and flipping the top off the metal barrel.

She'd ladle the rainwater out of the container, careful not to fall in, and then water the houseplants.

That barrel, which her father rigged himself, was old and rusty, but it is one of the fondest memories Conner has of growing up in Minnesota.

After her father's death in February, Conner, now 38, started to collect water in pitchers and milk jugs as water fell from the sky outside her Brandon home - until she received a mailing that caught her eye: a workshop on rain barreling.

"I am so excited, " she said, leaving the free workshop along with 100 other new collectors. "I'm doing something good for the environment but also able to honor my father's memory."

Along with instruction and information, Conner received a free 55-gallon drum, complete with a spigot and screen. It's all part of an effort by the Hillsborough County Extension Service to promote water conservation.

Florida receives an average of 52 inches of rainfall a year, with most of it flowing off rooftops and onto lawns and driveways, said Marina D'Abreau, who coordinates the classes for the extension service. The water picks up fertilizers and other pollutants and carries it into lakes, rivers and streams

That is, unless it lands in a barrel.

Because sediment like algae, roofing chemicals or bird droppings may shed from the rooftops, the water is not suitable for drinking.

But it does have a wide range of other uses, from lawn irrigation to composting, washing cars to cleaning garden tools.

The county and the city have chipped in to pay for the free drums at classes that are so popular, they are filled up until fall.

Amid drought conditions and water restrictions, those who collect rainwater, like Carrie Bakun of West Meadows, have found their barrels most useful.

"I don't have to worry about getting written up for using water when I'm not supposed to, " Bakun said, "and watering my plants is enjoyable."

Bakun has two rain barrels, one that she received free at the workshop and a second that she purchased for $15 because of a rain barrel shortage, second barrels must now be purchased at retail stores.

Because West Meadows is deed-restricted, Bakun had to get permission from the homeowners association before she put her barrels up. And she planted some bleeding heart vine around the barrels to make them less conspicuous.

Other homeowners have painted their barrels, either making them match the color of their homes or creating colorful sceneries of flowers, animals and landscapes.

"You should see some of the barrels, " D'Abreau said. "People have done really nice jobs painting and decorating them."

Bakun keeps one barrel near the entryway of her house where water generally flows from her roof after a rain.

The other one is positioned on the side of her house, which she has connected to a gutter. Her barrels fill up after about 10 minutes of a typical rainfall, she said.

In the evenings, Bakun turns a spigot connected to her rain barrel to fill her watering can. She walks around her pool and her yard, drenching her black elephant ears, rose bushes and irises.

"I regret not buying more, " Bakun said, joking that she'll have bathing water in case of a hurricane. "I didn't realize how nice it would be."

Dong-Phuong Nguyen can be reached at nguyen@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5312.

If you go

The workshop on rain barrel collecting is held once a month at the Hillsborough County Extension office at 5339 S County Road 579 in Seffner.

Classes for the next several months are full. Preregistration is required. For more information, go to: http://hillsborough_fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/RainBarrels.html or call (813) 744-5519, ext. 144.

Also, don't forget to check your homeowners association rules.

Did you know

You can collect about a half gallon of water per square foot of roof area during a 1-inch rainfall? For example, a house with a 2, 000-square-foot roof can collect about 1, 000 gallons of water.

More on the Web

Here are some rain barrels that homeowners have decorated. To see more samples, go to http://hillsborough_fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/RainBarrelPics.html .

[Last modified June 21, 2007, 07:47:13]