Can One Rain Barrel Really Make a Difference?

Here's a question we know runs through the minds of many people who may be contemplating whether or not to install a rain barrel, : will my rain barrel really make a difference?


The short answer is: Yes!

Now, let us explain.

There are an estimated 150,000 occupied dwellings in Sarasota County, Florida. A quarter-inch of rain will easily fill a 55-gallon barrel. If each of these 150,000 buildings installed one 55-gallon rain barrel, that's 8,250,000 gallons of water per just .25 inches of rainfall that can be harvested, used for a variety of different applications, and then released back into the ground. That's over eight million gallons of rainwater that can be recycled without tapping into any groundwater resources!

Every step taken towards conserving groundwater supplies is like taking two steps forward. How? Every time we recycle rainwater, we're not only conserving groundwater resources, but the use of harvested rainwater (on landscapes in particular) helps to recharge the groundwater supplies, which are incredibly overburdened. For instance, in Sarasota County, 28.71 million gallons of fresh water are withdrawn for public use each day. 97% of this water withdrawal comes from the ground, and 3% comes from the surface (City-Data.com). With numbers like this, it's easy to see that our current water usage situation is not permanently sustainable. We are taking water out of our groundwater supplies at a much faster rate than it takes to replenish them. Now, if we all install our one 55-gallon rain barrel, we are not only withdrawing less, we are taking steps to put more water back to refill Florida's aquifer. That's making a difference!

Another question you may have is this: with the scarcity of rainfall events in some geographic locations, is it even worth having a rain barrel?

Again, the short answer is: Yes!

We here in southwest Florida are no strangers to drought conditions. By capturing the rain when it DOES fall, we've now got a supply for use in between rainfall events. In our own personal gardens, we solely irrigate with harvested rainwater. In most cases, we will use our supply of rainwater 6 to 10 times in between  rainfall events, so if our plants could talk, they'd tell you it has "rained" a half dozen times or more during the dry spells, while many of the neighbors' plants would complain of dry, hot conditions. This is why cisterns are very popular in many desert regions. On the surface, it may seem counter-intuitive to have a rainwater harvesting system in the desert, however, many desert-dwellers do have rainwater harvesting systems, and very large ones, in an attempt to capture as close to 100% of the rain that falls as possible.

Below is a rainwater calculator (customized for Sarasota, Florida's average annual rainfall).

To calculate your rainwater harvest potential, find the estimated square feet of your house, and remember to factor in that your roof is larger than your house because of the overhangs. Find this number in the left blue column. Then follow the row across to the right to estimate how much water is falling on your roof during various sized rainfall events. The column labeled in yellow on the far right shows the harvest potential for Sarasota, Florida's average yearly rainfall.

With a rainwater harvesting system, you can be the master of your own weather! Make it rain, any time, night or day--just use your rain barrel! How's that for a rain dance?

We hope that we have shown that even in small steps, we can make a difference in a positive way.

~Sarasota Rain Barrels