Do you want to cut your water bills? If you have been saddled with a water bill that eats into your income, you need to know how rain barrels can help. You are really wasting valuable resource if you are watering your plants and garden, cleaning your car and cleaning your garage by using tap water. Do you know that your roof can give you around 600 gallons of water if you can just collect all those water in rain barrels that fall on it? These hundreds of gallons of water can be used for your household cleaning chores and thus save you hundreds of dollars each year.
The Cost Of Tap Water Is Rising
We all know that Mother Earth has been widely degraded by the industrial and commercial activities of man. That is basically the reason why the cost of water, a basic resource of mankind, is steadily rising. Modern scientists have prognosticated that there will come a time when governments all over the world may have to ration water to their citizens because the supply will get shorter and shorter. You can forestall that time, even in your own little way, if you will use rain barrels to collect water that falls on your roof every time it rains or storms.
You Can Mitigate This Environmental Concern
Pollution is one of the major problems of our modern cities. It greatly affects our water supply which is also a growing environmental concern of city governments around the world. Streets, roads, walkways and parking lots in the cities are mostly paved by cement, bricks, asphalt and other impervious materials. Being impervious, these surfaces will not allow rain water to seep back into the earth. During storms and ordinary rain, the water will just flow through these impenetrable surfaces and go to the sewer system or nearby bodies of water. This water will therefore carry all the refuse, chemicals and trash on the city streets, roads, walkways and parking lots as they flow down into the streams, lakes and the sea. This is called storm water pollution. Eventually, this water will go to the local water reserve where the city’s water supply comes from. They will undergo extensive water filtration and purification before they are channeled back into the cities as ordinary tap water.
By using rain barrels, you can do your share of reducing the storm water pollution that occurs every time it rains or storms. All the rain that will fall on your roof will be collected in these rain barrels. By doing this, you will be able to prevent rain and storm water from flowing down the streets and you will be able to use them for your household cleaning chores or watering your plants and your garden. On top of that, you will be able to cut down your water bills since you will not be using tap water anymore for this purpose. In broader terms, you are helping to conserve your city’s water supply by using rain and storm water collected from your rain barrels.
In addition, using storm and rain water to water your plants and your garden is also better than using ordinary tap water. The rain and storm water that you can collect in your rain barrels will not contain the usual chemicals like chlorine and fluoride that are harmful to plants and flowers. In other words, your household plants and the flowers and trees in your garden will grow and bloom better with rain and storm water than with ordinary tap water.
What You Need To Do
Rain barrels can be purchased in retailers that sell water containers and water tanks. They range from 30 gallons to 100 gallons. The size of your roof will determine how many barrels you will need. The most durable rain barrels are usually made of hard plastic or stainless steel. They can be easily installed or you can ask a professional handyman to do the installation. You need to put a screen on top of the rain barrel to filter out the debris and other impurities that usually come with the rain water. The barrels also need a tight cover to prevent insects and pests from getting inside. Rain barrels are also not recommended for houses with asbestos roofing. You also need to remember that rain and storm water are good for plants and for cleaning, but not for human consumption.