It’s the dog days of summer and we all know what that means - water management and conservation in the lawn and garden department. Time to keep your eye on the local newspaper for watering restrictions in your area and make sure every drop of water counts. Many communities operate on a system where if your house number is even you can water on calendar days with an even number and if your house number is odd, you can water on the odd calendar days. Other municipalities have implemented programs such as ‘No Water Wednesdays’. Water management and conservation is something we should be aware of and practice all the time regardless of the time of year or where we live, however; the summer heat always brings it closer to mind. So with thoughts of water in mind here are a couple of methods I employ to make the most of my water supply.
The Obvious Rain Barrel
For Christmas one year, my favorite sister-in-law gave me a spigot (tap) from Lee Valley. That might sound like a rather bizarre present, but she knew I was planning to set up a barrel for collecting rain water. The barrel, of heavy duty plastic, came from my tree farm friend. To attach the spigot, I had to make a hole in the side of the barrel. The hole had to be down low so that gravity and pressure from the water above would force water out of the tap. ‘X’ marked the spot, and using a torch I heated up a spike and pushed it through the side to make the initial opening. To make the hole bigger, I re-heated the spike and worked away at rounding the hole out. When the hole was almost large enough I used the torch to heat the spigot, then pushed it through to make the correct-sized opening. My spigot came with two rubber gaskets - one to be placed on the outside between the spigot and the barrel wall, and one to be placed on the inside between the barrel wall and the nut that screws on to hold the spigot in place. With gaskets in place, I hand-tightened the spigot assembly, surrounded the outside gasket with a little goop just to be safe, and that part of the process was complete. The lid for the barrel consisted of a flat disc that covered the top and an outer ring that screwed on to hold it in place. I replaced the disc with screen fabric. It would allow water to flow in, but not insects or debris from rain gutters. Almost finished, I chose the placement for my rain barrel - under the downspout that directs the most water off the roof when there’s rain. To raise the barrel off the ground, I placed it on a bed of rocks and made sure it was stable and relatively level. The next step required cutting the downspout off just above the top of the rain barrel and attaching an elbow to the spout so it would direct water into the barrel. For the sake of convenience I attached a short length of hose that would allow me to water all of my plants that were in close proximity to the barrel. With the installation complete, all that was left to do was wait for rain. Many rains have come and gone since the completion of this project and my beloved rain barrel has served me well.
The Not So Obvious Dehumidifier
Living in an old house, as I do, means running a dehumidifier in the basement 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (at least over the warm months) The moisture an old stone foundation kicks out is unbelievable. I could have a hose connected to the dehumidifier that goes directly to the drain in the floor, but why let all that water go to waste? I collect a full bucket of water almost every other day and it gets dumped into my rain barrel for safe keeping. The dehumidifier must be on, as there currently is no alternative, and I have bonus water as a result.
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