Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Rain Barrels





Rain Barrels are the next step in recycling and a key component to creating a sustainable lifestyle. Used to supplement city water for irrigation as well as other uses rain barrels have been proven to save as much as 60% on an average water bill. Along with cost savings rain barrels are an affordable way for homeowners to reduce pollutants from storm water run off, such as nitrogen from fertilizers, which contaminant our fragile waterways and oceans.

As our population continues to grow so does the prolonged drought in our state according to the South Carolina Department of Natural resources: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/water/climate/sco/Drought/drought_current_info.php

It's critical that every citizen to do his or her part to conserve water. One of the easiest and least costly ways is harvesting rain with rain barrels. The technology is ancient, it's proven and it's fun. Just one inch of rainfall produces 600 gallons of runoff per 1,000 square feet of roof! It's easy to see that with one normal rain event the average home can capture enough rainfall to pay for the barrels in no time.

Our rain barrels are reclaimed grade A+ food barrels made from recycled plastics and saved from the landfill. Because they have been working hard in a previous life they may contain some minor scuffing and scratches but these do not effect the performance of the barrel. These marks are just a reminder that we don't have to live in a "throw away society". Our barrels have been fitted with industrial grade plumbing fittings: spigot, overflow spouts and caps and with reclaimed UV protected heavy duty shade cloth to keep mosquitoes and debris out. Our barrels are designed to handle thousands of gallons of rainwater in their lifetime and require little to no maintenance at all.

5 comments:

  1. Does Cloudstream sell Rain Barrels in Augusta Georgia? Rain Barrels in South Carolina besides Rain Barrels Charleston SC, Columbia SC ?

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  2. We do sell Rain barrels in Augusta, Georgia and Rain Barrels in South Carolina, Charleston, Mt.Pleasant, North Charleston, Columbia ect...

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  3. Savings from System Efficiency: For the purpose of establishing an average

    estimation, the U.S. EPA states that the average American family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day

    for all indoor and outdoor activities, and about 30 percent of that is devoted to outdoor usage.7 This

    equates to 120 gallons per day and 43,800 gallons per year per family.

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  4. What is the best method to estimate the number of barrels needed? Do you use sq/ft of the yard? Intended uses? Or is it best to start with one or two and then add on?

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  5. Tracy your intended usage has a lot to do with the amount you will need. We recommend putting a rain barrel under each downspout to harvest water and then add on as you see fit. A one inch rainfall on a 1000 sq ft roof will catch about 620 gallons of water! Most of our rain barrels are 55-60 gallons so with just a small rain event you can harvest a good deal of water with a rain barrel. Once you see how much "free" water can be harvested you'll want to add more barrels. Thanks for your inquiry!

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