Rain Barrel

Wet enough for you? Welcome to Oregon.

Prior to and during my inspection years, I have studied water run-off issues. Portland, Keizer and Salem, Oregon have engineered remediation projects sites to capture and process rain water before it gets to the storm sewers.

What can a home owner do that won’t cost a fortune, be a functional water source for yard plants, and still drain extra water into the storm sewers?

Here is an example implemented on a government building in Salem:

Some water runs into the barrel, but when the barrel is full, it runs out the holes at the top and on to the ground.

We want the water to run away from the home. So …

I designed a system using recycled fruit juice barrels. (It gives off a pleasant scent while installing it)

Thanks to a complaining neighbor, I have modified the system several times to comply with his “health” issues. The barrel has minimal exposure for the breeding of mosquitoes,

It delivers excess water back into the storm drain system and …

.. it is on a stand so that a person can draw water from the tap without having to bend over.