Rain Barrels 

What makes GIRC rain barrels unique? 

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GIRC Rain Barrels: Locally made from used food import barrels. Durable design. Easy to maintain, repair and customize. Supporting local non-profit initiatives since 1999

LINKS:

For rain barrel inquires please email: rainbarrels[at]girc[dot]org

To learn more about the benefits and effects of rain barrels keep reading below!

For tons of information on water saving tips, drought-resistant plants, and more go to the Outdoor Water Efficiency page!

For step-by-step instructions on installing and using your rain barrel please click here.

 Rain barrel how to's:

For tips on using your rain barrel and installation instructions click here

Why Rain barrels?

The sale of rain barrels not only serves as a crucial fundraising project for the Guelph International Resource Centre (GIRC) but also is beneficial to the municipality, the people who use them, and the ecosystem.

The rain barrel is positioned under the downspout coming from the eaves of a building to collect the rain that falls on that building's roof. The rainwater collected can be used for a number of outdoor uses that would normally require tap water like watering gardens and lawns, or washing cars and pets. It is not recommended that the rainwater be used for drinking because no purification has been done. Concern has also been raised about leechate from the plastic of the barrels themselves as well as from the roof material and sediment on the roof.

Rain barrels are helpful because they reduce municipal water use as well as reducing the amount of runoff during rainstorms.

When rainwater is used for various outdoor water needs (watering lawns alone is a huge drain on municipal water supplies every summer - in 2001, water consumption increased about 50% above average during the summer), less water needs to be drawn from the source (wells or surface water), treated to drinking water standards and pumped to households. The municipality thus saves on operating costs when less water is used and in the long run saves a great deal on infrastructure costs because as water use rises new wells, pumping stations, treatment facilities, etc. need to be built. When less water is drawn into the municipal system the impact on the ecosystem is reduced as well. Drawing water from an aquifer, lake or river faster than it is naturally regenerated impacts the soil as well as the living communities that depend on water to survive. In addition, the energy and other resources used to distribute greater qualities of water to households creates pollution and must be stripped from the earth.

During a rainstorm in an urban area, some water will fall on soil and be absorbed but a great deal falls on hard surfaces like rooftops, roads, and sidewalks, creating runoff. This runoff enters the sewer system (is mixed with the residential, industrial and institutional sewage in some urban areas) and must be treated in the sewage treatment plant. During heavy rains, the volume overwhelms the capacity of the treatment plant and the mix of runoff and raw sewage is released into a nearby lake or river. This is a massive source of pollution as residential sewage contains dangerous bacteria and other microbes while the runoff and sewage from all sources contains hazardous wastes like heavy metals.

When a rain barrel is used to contain rainwater that falls on the roof of a building, this can reduce the amount of runoff during a rainstorm as downspouts from eaves often direct the water onto a hard surface eventually leading to the sewer or are sometimes connected directly into the sewer system. The municipality benefits from reduced operating costs due to the reduction in sewage flow during storms as well as reduced need for infrastructure that would be needed to handle the increased maximum sewage volume that the system would otherwise need to allow for. The aquatic ecosystem downstream from the municipality benefits from decreased likelihood of massive waves of polluted water entering the river or lake during a heavy rainfall.

In both cases, the rain barrel user benefits financially from lower water and sewage treatment bills, whether they are through direct billing or taxation.

Some History

The rain barrel project started as a small pilot initiative by Evan Ferrari in 1998 and was expanded in successive years. In 1999, the project was primarily organised by Tim Tripp and approximately 300 plastic barrels were sold. In 2000, Olivier Special organised the sale of rain barrels and about 300 more were sold. During the 2001 season, 530 rain barrels were sold as part of the water project organised by josh shook. In 2002, the rain barrel project was part of a larger Youth Services Canada funded Water Project that employed 12 young people and distributed over 500 more barrels. For more details see the Water Project web pages.

Rain barrels have been taken on as municipal projects in several cities, including Peterborough, Toronto and Kitchener. Various methods have been employed, including a one-time heavily subsidized sale by the city of Kitchener, a rebate program in Toronto aimed at homes with downspouts leading directly into the sewers and rainbarrel sales as part of a larger city environmental program.