On the Grexwalk Janc was talking about rain barrels.  This is where you
basically  have a barrel or other water holder to collect water running off
the roof.  You can then use the water later for the garden/lawn/whatever.

This sounded interesting, so I stuck a big garbage can under one of my
downspouts a couple days ago.  Today it's full to the brim, on about 25% of
the roof's area.  So the theory is solid. 

 Apparently you can do things like put a tap on the bottom of the barrel for
a hose, filter the water coming in, and even reject the first x gallons to
that the collected crud gets washed away first.

Anyway, I'll be doing more on this.  There's a couple of downspouts that jut
put the water in dumb places anyway (washing down the gravel driveway, for
instance).  Probably I'll do something a bit half-assed, rather than trying
to get a fancy solution.  All I need is something I can dip a bicket into on
dry days.

19 responses total.

You also need a way to keep mosquitoes from breeding in it if you don't plan
to use the water immediately.  We have been saving water in buckets from the
rain, and storing it inside in a covered container, and last time Jim opened
it twelve mosquitoes flew out.  In the winter your barrel will fill with ice.
There is little collected crud, at least off our stainless roof, but leaves
do blow into it and it should be scrubbed out once in a while.

I have collected rain water off and on for years.  It's nice soft water and
is good for fish and plants.  I had one setup that held about 20 gallons. 
It had a spigot at the bottom and it also had a self starting siphon that
would start up when it got too full and would shut off after siphoning out
about 4 gallons of water.  The unique thing about my siphon was that it would
take the majority of the water off the bottom of the tank without emptying
the tank.  I did this to purge whatever debris would collect there.  I also
had a course, removable strainer to filter the water before it went into the
container.  I currently have two 55 gallon jugs set aside that I plan to use
for a rainwater catchment system once we get our pole barn built.  Our house
has no gutters, but the pole barn will.

I lived in a house in Ann Arbor that had a cistern. All the downspouts fed
into an underground tank. There was a hand pump in the mud room. I
added an outside hand pump for garden use. Rain water is very soft 
and therefore superior to well water in this area for washing. 

I stayed at a house in Nova Scotia this summer that had a cistern. It 
was located uphill from the house so no hand pumb was needed (although 
the water pressure wasnt great). Naturally one couldnt drink the water 
but it was ok for taking a shower and whatnot. I was a little grossed 
out when we went up to the cistern and found a dead mouse in the water. 
ICK. But then I figured, there were probably occasionally dead mice in 
the lakes I swim in so I got over it. 

There are also live fish and other animals in those lakes and fish don't have
privies.

Sure they do - the lake.

Yup, like I said...I got over it. :)

I'm sure it would be fine for watering plants etc.
Anyone know how to keep Mosquitos out of one though?

Put a screen over it. 

Sounds like a plan! :-)

Or put goldfish in it.  They'd be OK over the summer, and you could bring them
inside for the winter.

You might be able to leave the goldfish in in the winter, if the barrel
were insulated. I once had a yard pond with goldfish, and they survived
the winter even with several inches of ice formed on top. 

I had read that fish can survive the winter in ponds 2' or deeper.  My
experience is to the contraire.  In the last two years not one of the fish
or frogs in our 6' diameter X 2' deep pond, sunken into the ground, survived
the winter.  I'm certain that it froze solid to the bottom in the winter of
2002 - 2003.  This winter was cold but the snow covering kept the ground, and
I assume water, from freezing very deep.  I thought I had netted all the fish
last fall but I missed one as I found it floating on the surface yesterday.
I have been removing all the fish, frogs, etc. every fall after my experience
in 2002 - 2003.  The lilly pads do fine left in the pond, however.

Where do you keep the animals over the winter?  In the wild, frogs supposedly
burrow into mud/ground and sleep.

Out in the wild, except the Goldfish.  Those go into a tank in the basement
for the winter.

How do you keep the frogs out of it?  Or have you decided to not really worry
about them?

Re #9: {scratching} I take it that it's not considered
  normal, even in the illinois to have to wear mosquito
  repellant to the office? :-(

I relocate any frogs to the nieghbors pond, where they can burrow into the
mud, before things freeze in the fall.

Cool. :)

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