Saving Rain for a Dry, Summer Day

As summer passes by, the frequent showers of spring become a fading memory. Summers in Alpharetta are usually hot and dry with an occasional thunderstorm drenching us with enormous amounts of rain in a short period of time (most of which ends up down the storm drain…wasted).

The drought is only going to get worse and we need to capture that wasted water and use it during the dry spells. The simplest approach to catch rainwater is to place a rain barrel under a downspout to collect the rainwater from your roof. Each rain barrel will hold approximately 55 gallons of water (one barrel is usually enough for a small garden).

For large gardens or to use the rainwater through a sprinkler system, a cistern will be your best bet. A cistern is a large vessel, often made from plastic, located above or below ground that holds between 100 and 1400 gallons or water. A cistern requires a modest initial investment that takes a few years to pay back…but if watering restrictions continue to get worse...think about the price of replacing your entire landscape.

The Rainwater Connection
Wikipedia - Rainwater Harvesting
The Grean Season Group