Comments for sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/water2

Comment #1217

2019-05-06T03:27:15Z

As I was saying...

From that article I found this fancy rain barrel system: Rainwater HOG. Looks pretty nice. If we had a good composting system, I'd divert part of our rainwater through it and make compost tea. (See Heather's comment on my worm post.) One concern I would have would be keeping mosquitoes out; I don't want to provide them a nice supply of standing water in which to breed. How do your rain barrels accomplish that?

On a visit to some friends in New Zealand, I was very impressed to discover that all their water, for drinking as well as washing, was collected rainwater. Their roof was made of material (I don't remember what) that did not add anything harmful to the water, which was stored in a very large, concrete cistern. Only in rare times of drought did they have to supplement with purchased water—and they raised three boys on that system! Apparently it's not unusual in New Zealand.

Comment #1216

2009-04-24T16:55:35Z

Our barrels in Maine have a mesh screen covering the top of them and secured around the top of the barrel. A section of downspout rests on top. The idea being that the screen will let the water in, but nothing else. Really, we are just trying to keep leaves and pine needles out, not insects. It is an island, with coves and mud and puddles, so I think the mosquitoes have plenty of places to breed.

We have a steel roof in Maine, but I would still want some sort of filter if I were going to drink it. A much better system than what we used to do which is use river water for washing dishes.

I didn't take a look a real close look at the rain barrels the town was offering, but I think they actually had some kind of lid that had a place that could be attached to a downspout.

Comment #1215

2009-04-24T12:24:02Z

Aaaargh! When will I learn to copy my long comments before posting. If I make a mistake in the html the rest of the post evaporates like a drop of water in the desert.

Comment #1214

2009-04-24T12:22:18Z

Interesting you should mention that. A friend—independently of my post—mentioned an article you might find interesting, and which I had planned to comment on here: Who Owns the Rain? Hint: It's Not Always Homeowners. Scary—but not surprising, I guess, when you can own a house but not the mineral rights to the land it's on, as is the case in Western Pennsylvania. The air above your house is also not yours: you have the legal right to breathe it (not that it's been tested, to my knowledge) but not to charge rent of the airplanes flying overhead.

From that article I found this fancy rain barrel system, the

Comment #1213

2009-04-23T22:31:06Z

Do you do anything with rainwater? We have two 50 gallon barrels that we collect rainwater in at the island. We use it for washing dishes. In town here, they offered barrels (for a reasonable fee) to hook to our gutters so that we could collect water to water our gardens.