For the second time this season someone in our family (“I think it was me”, he said sheepishly) inadvertantly left the rain barrel valve open and drained the barrels dry. Over 200 gallons of precious rain water lost, again! It’s amazing how quickly we’ve come to rely on the rain water for our garden and how reluctant I am to use our public water supply. It is such a waste of resources and money.

I think from this point forward I’m going to take advantage of the valve system I have. If you look at the photo, you’ll see there are shutoff valves between the two barrels to the left. The next time the barrels are filled I will close off these valves so that the two barrels are isolated. That way, if we once again leave open the tap, we won’t lose more than half the water. I am also hatching an idea to build a second backup system for my lawn and emergencies. 

ADDENDUM

Several hours after posting we were blessed with a torrential downpour and my rain barrels are once again full — nearly 200 gallons. It’s amazing how much water runs off a roof. I have now closed the stops to the last two barrels in the series as a precaution. I will open them only if the first two barrels run dry.

Title: rain barrels set up
Description: rain barrels restored to their proper places and ready for the next rain
Date: 2009-04-04

Finally found the time to get the rain barrels set up again. Actually, this was great timing because we got our first good rain two days later and the four barrels were completely full!

(photos to follow)