Rainwater Harvesting

This will be a short one, because we haven't done it yet. I also don't think it will be that hard.

We don't have our metal roof on yet...soon I hope. But once its on, I'm going to put 55gal barrels at each down spout and collect the rainwater off the roof. For now I'm not going to add a roof wash (to divert dirty water before collecting). We're only using the water for irrigation and laundry.

In the future, I hope to have a cistern, but thats a long way off. I'd like to be able to drink the water too, but that will require a filter. So those are future goals.

In the meantime, we have buckets out to catch the rain. We catch rain in the boat, and then Dan ran a hose from the boat to the garden to irrigate.

When I finally do get the 55gal barrels up and running, I'm hoping to put one on the deck so its near the kitchen. Easier to dip and haul water if its only a few feet away, and NOT up the steps!

I got our 55gal barrels from someone on Craigslist for $10 each. They are food grade barrels with lids, so I think they will work great.