Hi.
I am Shawna Coronado and I am here today with Jim Kleinwachter of the Conservation Foundation.
And today, we are going to talk about water conservation.
Jim, tell us a little bit about why it is important to conserve water.
We are trying to educate people about water conservation.
A lot of times, the water from the house will run off and go into our storm drain system
and flush off into the Gulf of Mexico.
We have to interrupt that system and keep that water on the property.
Wonderful.
Jim’s conservation at home plan really ties into this, and he teaches people how to install
rain barrels.
So today, Jim’s going to teach us how to install a rain barrel.
Jim, how do we get started?
Well, we are going to level the ground.
We are going to put the cement blocks down.
Ok.
We are going to set the barrel there and cut the downspout and run that water right into
the barrel to conserve it.
Awesome.
Let us get started.
Great.
All right.
We are going to start by setting these blocks.
All right we set the blocks first; we do not cut it first?
Well, we are going to use that to determine the height.
Oh, gotcha.
The blocks are used to get the barrel off the ground.
It is gravity-fed, so by getting the barrel up it, it will help our water flow.
So the gravity pressure.
Mhmm.
Got it.
So once the barrel is – we can determine the height of the barrel.
And Shawna could you get that elbow?
Sure.
We are going to use a flexible elbow to divert that water and move it out into the barrel.
Ok.
So, the barrel will sit there, we determine where our cut is going to be, we mark it –
All right.
- And then we will do our cut.
Great.
I am going to use a simple hacksaw.
Great.
Do I need to hold it?
And we will start about right there.
All right I will hold this.
Ok.
We finished our cut and we will remove this piece.
We will save it for later.
The barrel then gets put up in place.
There is a spigot on the front for garden hose connection so you can easily run it to
your garden.
You can water plants, use it for your pet water, your garden, wash your cars – there
is a lot of use for rain water.
So how is the – the water just falls into the top then?
We going to direct it in here.
Connect the downspout piece.
And direct right on top.
There is a screen on top which keeps leaves and debris and keeps mosquitoes out.
So we do not have to worry about mosquitoes?
No.
Not at all?
The same window screen that keeps mosquitoes out of your home will keep mosquitoes out
of the rain water.
Terrific.
So how fast will it fill?
Typically, a quarter inch rain will fill this barrel.
That is it?
So every downspout could do the same thing so you can collect your hundred gallons.
After that, the water will run off so we need to have other means of capturing that water;
typically, a rain garden.
Got it.
There is an overflow on the sides of the barrels so when the barrel gets filled, the water
will come off of this other spout, and you can use it to water your plants.
So what about this?
What if we connect the overflow to your rain garden and build a rain garden?
Can you do that and have all of your drains run into the rain garden?
And a rain garden is really a garden that is filled with plants that love water.
And so, that is the premise, correct?
The whole idea is keep that water on your lot.
If everyone could keep their water on their lot, we would stop the flooding we have.
We would stop a lot of the erosion and we would be saving all that rainwater.
What is unique about this rain barrel?
Our barrels are reused barrels.
They came over from Europe with olives and pickles and cherries and hot peppers.
And then we are retrofitting them to make rain barrels out of them.
Excellent.
And so, I know that the viewers want to get one now.
Tell me how they do that.
The rain barrels are part of our Conservation at Home program which helps people implement
a variety of eco-friendly things in their yards.
You go right to our website theconservationfoundation.org and we have got information on everything
you need conservation-wise.
Wonderful.
So there you have it.
It is easy, it is simple, you can conserve today.
Get a rain barrel.
Make a difference.