Harvesting H20…Easy on the Budget and the Garden

Though we’re still knee-deep in snow, it’s not too early to start thinking about spring landscaping. And if you’re looking for a way to reduce last year’s water bill, the solution may literally fall from the sky – says Lisa Haderlein, the executive director of The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC).

Lisa and I are proponents of one of the simplest ways to green up the garden, while choosing a “green” solution at the same time – water harvesting with rain barrels. These plastic drums simply hook up to a home’s gutter system, and before long, you’ve got 50 gallons of rain water available for landscaping – or even washing the car.

“One of the really great things about rain barrels and harvesting rain water is you don’t have to pay for treated water that’s coming from the water treatment plant to water your yard,” she said. “And the water from the treatment plant is usually treated with a chlorine to deal with any bacteria, and some plants aren’t going to like that too much.”

The water harvesting plan is one that the village of Algonquin supports. In fact, Katie Parkhurst, senior planner, said she’s very excited about the village’s partnership with TLC to get residents started with it. The two entities are selling rain barrels for $60 each, with the TLC handling sales and ordering, and the village doing publicity and serving as a collection site. (It’s $5 extra per barrel if you want to pick yours up at the village.)

Parkhurst said this is an earth-friendly thing to do because, “It’s saving our resource so we don’t have to pump as much water out of our wells, treat it and pipe it out to other homes.”

She’s right - Just think of all the energy we can save if we could just reduce the amount of processing that’s done to something natural – rain water.

And the village has actually had a very comprehensive water conservation plan since 2003. Parkhurst said the rain barrels really tie in with it, because it’s the next step in getting residents to understand why it is important to use the rainwater.
“Once they see how much water they collect, and how much they use, it will help them understand,” she said. The village has also added a graph to its water bills, so residents can see how their water usage compares to last year’s.

The 50-gallon plastic barrels can be ordered on TLC’s website, www.conservemc.org/rainbarrelsnew.htm. Delivery is anticipated in May, and pickup at TLC in Woodstock is also an option.

Haderlein hopes the water harvesting will really take off, especially when she remembers her grandmother talking about collecting rain in a sistern for the very same purpose: “Rainwater is clean and pretty much pure water, so whether its on flowers or vegetables…or the lawn, you can just run a rose (from the rain barrel) and let gravity take its course,” she said. “This whole idea of turning on the tap and hooking up a hose to a water system to water your garden is a relatively new thing. I guess our generation moved toward convenience.”

I have two in my backyard and would love a third. Once people see how easy it is to collect the water and put it to good use, they’ll wish they ordered more than one.

Parkhurst said with the cost savings – and the natural benefits- in mind, “We view it as a win-win for everybody involved.”