Rain Barrels: Pros and Cons

As California heads into another year of drought, communities are finding ways to conserve their water resources. One of those resources may be the expected rainfall from El Nino. Much of the rainfall is captured in surface reservoirs and soaks into the ground to be stored in aquifers. However, some of the rainfall does runoff into rivers and the ocean, which leads to an interest in rain barrels. Should we capture the runoff in a rain barrel for use at another time?
A rain barrel is a container that captures and stores rainwater draining from your roof. Barrels usually have a spigot for filling watering cans and a connection for a soaker hose. Several designs are available online and are sold locally at several retailers including Lowes, Home Depot and Costco. Properly designed rain barrels cost about $100 and store 50 to 80 gallons of water. It is important to note that rainwater is not potable and should not be used for drinking or cooking.
Pros: Combining the use of rain barrels with lawn aeration, appropriate plant selection and mulching promote water conservation. Rainwater can be captured by simply collecting water during a rainfall event for reuse, such as watering plants or other outdoor needs.
Cons: Standing water in rain barrels may become a breeding source for mosquitoes. In warm weather, mosquitoes can mature from egg to larvae in as little as seven to 10 days, posing a health threat for diseases such as West Nile virus. Mosquitoes utilize bodies of water that remain still long enough to release their eggs. Therefore, it can only be expected that rain barrels will become a target for these insects to multiply.
The Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control provides some great information on why mosquitoes are a threat to the L.A. County area, how to identify them and some tips to stay mosquito-free.
But what if you don’t store the water for a long time? That works in theory, but much of our rainfall in Southern California occurs during the time when plant water needs are the least. That means that we have water handy in rain barrels just after it rains (when the plants don’t need much water).
And although we are faced with a potentially wet winter, we are still in an exceptional drought. While rain barrels seem like a good idea to save water, there are two other ways you can save water on your landscape:
1. Follow the State Water Resources Control Board mandate prohibiting landscape irrigation 48 hours after measurable rainfall.
2. Follow the two days per week watering schedule set by all of the SCV’s water retailers.
Watering schedules and mandatory conservation measures can be found on our website, www.CLWA.org.