I recieved the following email from a friend (i.e. the Carver Terrace guy from the Pug photo, who does not, by the way, sell rain barrels):
Here is the website for the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center, which makes 60-gallon rain barrels from recycled plastic barrels.
http://www.arlingtonecho.net/rainbarrel.htm
I bought one this weekend, and it is very well made. If people are interested in making their own rain barrels, the website provides step-by-step instructions, but I would encourage people to purchase one if possible, since this is a fund-raiser for a great outdoor education aand recreation center for public school students.
Rain barrels help with storm water management (minimizing the burden on water treatment plants), help minimize the water use for outdoor plants throughout the summer and reduce the runoff from heavy rainfalls. I hope your readers will consider buying one (or making their own).
9 comments:
What about mosquitoes?
Doesn't having large barrels full of water in your back yard create a perfect egg laying spot for them?
First, the entire top of the barrel is not gone.
Second, there is a mesh screen to deter insects.
here is a link that talks briefly about the issue. It's not like just stilling a giant bucket out, filling it with water, and letting it sit.
I was not trying to Poo Poo the idea, I was just wondering because I could not find a mention of mosquito prevention in the limited search I did.
I think it is a good idea, between the water that pools in my basement during heavy rains, the water that floods out of my gutter drain and covers my back yard patio, and the water I use to refill my pond in the summer from the tap, I could personally use one or two of these.
I would just hope that people will use the mosquito donuts, because the mosquitoes will get into these things if you don't, mesh screen or not.
I hope everyone will consider doing this. Our section of the city is connected to the combined sewer system. This means that sewage and stormwater are carried within the same pipe network to the wastewater treatment plant in SW DC. On dry days this system works well, but when it rains (sometimes as little as 0.1") the excess volume of rainwater overwhelms the pipe network and causes large volumes of raw sewage and stormwater to spill untreated into the Potomac, Anacostia, and Rock Creek. As you can imagine, this is pretty nasty and one of the major reasons that these water bodies are impaired. If even a modest number of people stored or redirected the rainwater coming off their roofs rather than letting it enter the sewer system, we could make a big impact on water quality in DC's waters.
I would definitely recommned getting a rain barrel. I used to live in a basement apartment in Logan Circle that flooded several times. We convinced our landlord to detatch the gutter from the storm drain and run it to a rain barrel and our apartment never flooded again. We then used the rain water to water the garden. It worked really well and helps to keep our sewer system from overflowing into the Anacostia!
Wells,
sorry, I didn't mean it to sound harsh. Mosquitos are a concern, but one you can avoid. There are lots of good reasons for rain barrels (which I don't have yet) and compost heaps (which I do have). Both can have problems if you don't manage them well.
From experience, anything but an absurdly fine mesh screen is fairly useless against the Asian tiger mosquito, which is the main bad guy around these parts anymore.
Dunkers (i.e. "donuts") may help, as mentioned above, but I'm not so sure -- I've never used them, but my understanding is that they're intended to be used in much smaller water receptacles (e.g. a bird bath). Water barrels, having a lot more water in them, would overdilute the Bti, I would think. So I dunno whether they'd help. Maybe someone here has experience with them specifically in barrels, and can advise?
They sell the dunkers at Lilypons, a great pond store in Fredrick, they also have a website, lilypons.com. On that website the page for them specifically mentions water barrels, so I would think they would work.
Inked, for compost, do you use a barrel to turn it? Also, does it smell and how do I keep my dog out of it?
I do not use a barrel. I use bins in which I drilled holes. Compost should not stink. If it does, you don't have the proportions right (too much green). You could buy a commercial bin, and that would keep the dog out, or you could just put the lid on your compost.
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