Hit 10,000 gallons of water saved this summer with my rain barrel setup

I set up a couple of rain barrels off my downspouts back in May just to see if it made a dent in my water bill. Didn't really track it until last week when I added it up. 10,000 gallons. That's pretty wild for just two barrels catching runoff from a 1,200 sq ft roof in Atlanta. The surprise was how much it helped during those dry spells when the city watering restrictions kicked in. Anyone else actually keep count of what their rain collection does?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_dylan3d ago

Jumping in to agree that the watering restrictions really change the game... I'm in a similar spot up in North Carolina and those dry weeks had me panicking until I realized my barrels were still half full. It's crazy how much a little roof runoff adds up when you think about it, like 10,000 gallons is basically a small pond you created out of thin air. The real trick I found was adding a second barrel linked to the first one so they fill up in sequence... now I can water the garden for like three weeks straight without touching the hose. Makes me wonder how many more people would do this if they just tried it for a month.

aaron_gonzalez2d ago

Whoa, careful with that math... 10,000 gallons from a few rain barrels would need like ten of those big 1,000 gallon tanks, not just a couple of linked 55 gallon drums. Most houses in my area with a standard setup are looking at maybe 300-400 gallons max from a good storm, still a lot but not pond territory. Just don't want anyone thinking their two barrels are gonna give them a swimming pool is all.