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Dollars from heaven
Harvesting a rediscovered organic crop – rainwater.
 
by Michael Abedin
 
What would you do if money started falling from the sky?  Probably grab some buckets, maybe even some barrels.  Water is quickly becoming a precious commodity, and when rain falls from the sky, it’s a good idea to have something to collect it, as well. 
In areas where natural groundwater is scarce and rainfall is plentiful – rural Hawaii, the Yucatan – big concrete cisterns next to houses are a pretty common sight, and every working Texas ranch has a stock tank to catch the rain when it comes.  You don’t have to build a cistern or dig a tank, though.  You can use a good old-fashioned rain barrel.
 
Not your great-grandaddy’s rain barrel.
Actually, there are new-fashioned rain barrels that are a lot more efficient than your great-granddaddy’s old wooden one.  John Paul Rowe of Austin Green Water has some suggestions, all of which he incorporates into his systems:
·        Wooden stands, high enough to raise water pressure – no pump required.
·        Brass faucet fittings that you can hook a hose to, instead of using a small tube.
·        Recycled food-grade steel barrels instead of plastic, with a mosquito-proof cover.
 
Most people, he says, connect a soaker hose directly to their barrels to water gardens or lawns.  A good basic system can see you through a dry spell without having to open the tap on a stream of liquid money from the city that can make that head of lettuce in your garden cost more than if you ordered it from Neiman’s – and it’ll be organic, pure, and chemical-free, with no chlorine to kill off the biotic community in the soil.  Makes a good way to wash your car or your pet, too.
            Austin averages about thirty-two inches of rain a year, and you can harvest quite a bit of it, even in a single barrel with no gutters on your roof.  Startups are inexpensive, there’s no state sales tax, and both Austin and San Marcos offer rebates for getting a system.
            When it rains – you won’t be poor.
 
 Contact Austin Green Water at (512) 461-2390, or visit www.austingreenwater.com