I remember watching Tarzan movies and loving his jungle plumbing. His rainwater collection system was fabulous. He would collect rainwater in an elaborate system from palm leaves into bamboo pipes into a turtle-shell sink. There was also an occasional chimpanzee or some other animal that would turn a pump. No wonder Jane fell in love with him and these luxuries.
Rainwater collection systems can be traced back over 3,000 years. Egyptian armies had secret caches of rainwater they collected throughout the desert. During the Roman Empire, rainwater cisterns were common. Water was collected in the mountains and transported to the cities by aqueducts. This elevated their standard of living immensely.
We are fortunate here in the Tennessee Valley. Average rainfall is about 50 inches. This should be plenty of water to grow almost any crop.
The problem is that the rain comes heavily in the spring and usually slows or stops during the summer and fall months. Lawn and garden watering make up nearly 40 percent of total household water use during the summer. Rain barrels are an excellent way to capture and save water for those hot summer days.
Barrel basics
Rain barrels reduce water and wastewater bills. They protect our rivers, lakes and streams from runoff pollution. They control moisture levels around the foundation of the home. Rain barrels provide a free source of water containing no chlorine, lime or calcium, making it ideal for watering plants or washing cars. Rain barrels keep water out of storm and sewer systems.
About 600 gallons of water can be collected from an inch of rainfall on 1,000 square feet of roof area. Usually a house has four or more downspouts. Each one collects from 200 to 400 square feet, depending on the house size and shape. So, it only takes a light rain to completely fill a 50-gallon barrel. Ideally, each downspout should have a rain barrel to catch the water. However, even a single 50-gallon rain barrel can save over a thousand gallons of water during peak summer months.
Purchase and care
Readymade barrels can be found at local garden and hardware stores and online from a variety of sources. Wooden and plastic barrels and plastic trash cans can be converted to rain barrels with little effort and expense. Instructions for conversion can be found on the Internet or from Master Gardener workshops.
A barrel full of water can be extremely heavy. Water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon. So a 50-gallon barrel can exceed 400 pounds. Make sure the barrel is secure so it will not tip over, even if children happen to climb on it.
Fine mesh screen should be used to cover any openings in the rain barrel to prevent mosquitoes. The screen also keeps out leaves and other debris.
Rain barrels should be drained for the winter months to prevent ice damage.
workshop
The Master Gardeners of Hamilton County have been conducting workshops on building rain barrels. They plan to have at least one workshop per month if barrel supplies last. All workshops will be conducted at the new Food Bank Greenhouse and Teaching Pavilion, 2009 Curtain Pole Road.
The workshops are designed so that participants build their own rain barrel. This gives them the knowledge to successfully install the barrel and begin to collect rainwater.
The barrels are reused from local distributers. They contained food, soap or other nontoxic material. The barrels are washed thoroughly before use. Please contact the Master Gardeners if your business can donate some free barrels to this effort.
The next workshop will be held 9-11 a.m. Saturday, June 19. The cost is $25 as long as the Master Gardeners can procure free barrels. The price covers the barrel, spigot, overflow tube and collection pipe. Class size is limited, and advance registration is required. Sign up for future workshops by going to the Master Gardener website at www.mghc.org.
Contact Tom Stebbins at tstebbins@utk.edu or 855-6113.