The Rain Catchers program, sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension, is in full swing this summer in Skaneateles as two rain gardens are in bloom downtown and as five local residents are participating in a rain barrel pilot study.
All of the homeowners have now been using and maintaining their barrels for about one month.
Since there are numerous rain barrel set-ups and designs available, the study seeks to determine the assets and flaws of different barrel models to learn which work best, as well as to see how people use them.
Marie McDonough of Skaneateles is trialing a rain barrel made from an old oak whiskey cask.
Wooden barrels are able to hold liquid when the wood panels saturate and expand. Although her barrel once held 55 gallons of whiskey without fail, McDonough reports the barrel has been leaking water. It is possible that the wood is drying out as the barrel empties rainwater, but it is likely that the barrel has not been saturated enough to completely seal the panels.
Nevertheless, soaker hoses attached to a spigot on the bottom front of the barrel are successfully delivering water to her gardens.
Leaks and all, McDonough is pleased with her barrel; she loves the look of the aged wooden barrel next to her house.
As part of the study, all participants are keeping track of how much water they capture in a special calendar.
The wooden rain barrel trial has become a family activity as her children have been recording the barrel's performance in the calendar.
Plastic rain barrels seem to be much better at containing the water inside. Karen Campbell of Dewitt is testing a plastic, octagonal shaped rain barrel that is great at capturing rainwater.
This unique barrel design was included in the study because it seems desirable for downspouts surrounded by shrubbery.
Campbell is also very pleased with her rain barrel, except for when she discovered that two chipmunks had accidentally fallen into the barrel and drowned.
Extension educators were surprised that chipmunks were able to crawl inside because at a price of nearly $300, the barrel was expected to be secure.
This apparent design flaw was fixed by drilling holes in a clear plastic plate and screwing it down along with an additional piece of mesh screen on top of the barrel's lid.
Campbell's unfortunate discovery has not deterred her from continuing to use her rain barrel. She is using the water she catches to water her gardens.
Many of the participants were surprised at how quickly so much water is captured from their gutter downspouts. For every one-inch of rain that falls on a 1,000 square foot rooftop, 600 gallons of water are collected.
When so much water is emptying into the barrel, it is important to have a back-up method of diverting excess water some place else once the barrel fills.
One easy way to deal with barrel water overflow is to connect two barrels together to double holding capacity.
Kris Scholl of Moravia is trialing such a set-up with The RainCatcherTM.
The model features two barrels connected together with a clear plastic hose that carries water into the other barrel once one is filled.
Scholl very much enjoys his RainCatcherTM and is using the rain he catches to water his vegetable gardens and the apple trees in his small orchard. Scholl especially likes that his rain barrels are a source of free water.
Chris Delmonico of Skaneateles is also glad that her rain barrel is saving her from drawing water from her well. Rainwater is diverted from her rooftop into her blue plastic rain barrel via a Save The RainTM diverter, a metal piece that is attached to the downspout to create a seamless flow of water into the barrel. More information about diverters and rain barrels is available at counties.cce.cornell.edu/onondaga//rain_barrels.php.
Another way to catch the rain running off a rooftop is with a rain garden.
Rain gardens are unique because of their pie-pan shape that allows them to fill with water during a storm. Rain gardens are positioned near a gutter downspout so that the water empties into the garden and sits in the depression until it soaks into the ground.
You can learn more about rain gardens by visiting one of two demonstration rain gardens in Skaneateles. The first rain garden was planted last summer in front of the Water Department but was destroyed over the winter when a water main broke.
In May, the garden was replanted with many new varieties of plants. Plants like Echinacea, New England aster, great blue lobelia and cardinal flower will bloom in the next few weeks and into the fall. The second rain garden is planted at Creekside Books & Coffee on Fennell Street.
This garden was also planted last summer, and it continues to flourish this year.
If you have already planted a rain garden or installed a rain barrel at your home, we want to know. Fill out a postcard online at cce.cornell.edu/onondaga//rain_catchers.php and send it back to us so that we can keep a running tally of all of the rain gardens and rain barrels.
Moskell is a natural resources community educator with
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County
Since there are numerous rain barrel set-ups and designs available, the study seeks to determine the assets and flaws of different barrel models to learn which work best, as well as to see how people use them.
Marie McDonough of Skaneateles is trialing a rain barrel made from an old oak whiskey cask.
Wooden barrels are able to hold liquid when the wood panels saturate and expand. Although her barrel once held 55 gallons of whiskey without fail, McDonough reports the barrel has been leaking water. It is possible that the wood is drying out as the barrel empties rainwater, but it is likely that the barrel has not been saturated enough to completely seal the panels.
Nevertheless, soaker hoses attached to a spigot on the bottom front of the barrel are successfully delivering water to her gardens.
Leaks and all, McDonough is pleased with her barrel; she loves the look of the aged wooden barrel next to her house.
As part of the study, all participants are keeping track of how much water they capture in a special calendar.
The wooden rain barrel trial has become a family activity as her children have been recording the barrel's performance in the calendar.
Plastic rain barrels seem to be much better at containing the water inside. Karen Campbell of Dewitt is testing a plastic, octagonal shaped rain barrel that is great at capturing rainwater.
This unique barrel design was included in the study because it seems desirable for downspouts surrounded by shrubbery.
Campbell is also very pleased with her rain barrel, except for when she discovered that two chipmunks had accidentally fallen into the barrel and drowned.
Extension educators were surprised that chipmunks were able to crawl inside because at a price of nearly $300, the barrel was expected to be secure.
This apparent design flaw was fixed by drilling holes in a clear plastic plate and screwing it down along with an additional piece of mesh screen on top of the barrel's lid.
Campbell's unfortunate discovery has not deterred her from continuing to use her rain barrel. She is using the water she catches to water her gardens.
Many of the participants were surprised at how quickly so much water is captured from their gutter downspouts. For every one-inch of rain that falls on a 1,000 square foot rooftop, 600 gallons of water are collected.
When so much water is emptying into the barrel, it is important to have a back-up method of diverting excess water some place else once the barrel fills.
One easy way to deal with barrel water overflow is to connect two barrels together to double holding capacity.
Kris Scholl of Moravia is trialing such a set-up with The RainCatcherTM.
The model features two barrels connected together with a clear plastic hose that carries water into the other barrel once one is filled.
Scholl very much enjoys his RainCatcherTM and is using the rain he catches to water his vegetable gardens and the apple trees in his small orchard. Scholl especially likes that his rain barrels are a source of free water.
Chris Delmonico of Skaneateles is also glad that her rain barrel is saving her from drawing water from her well. Rainwater is diverted from her rooftop into her blue plastic rain barrel via a Save The RainTM diverter, a metal piece that is attached to the downspout to create a seamless flow of water into the barrel. More information about diverters and rain barrels is available at counties.cce.cornell.edu/onondaga//rain_barrels.php.
Another way to catch the rain running off a rooftop is with a rain garden.
Rain gardens are unique because of their pie-pan shape that allows them to fill with water during a storm. Rain gardens are positioned near a gutter downspout so that the water empties into the garden and sits in the depression until it soaks into the ground.
You can learn more about rain gardens by visiting one of two demonstration rain gardens in Skaneateles. The first rain garden was planted last summer in front of the Water Department but was destroyed over the winter when a water main broke.
In May, the garden was replanted with many new varieties of plants. Plants like Echinacea, New England aster, great blue lobelia and cardinal flower will bloom in the next few weeks and into the fall. The second rain garden is planted at Creekside Books & Coffee on Fennell Street.
This garden was also planted last summer, and it continues to flourish this year.
If you have already planted a rain garden or installed a rain barrel at your home, we want to know. Fill out a postcard online at cce.cornell.edu/onondaga//rain_catchers.php and send it back to us so that we can keep a running tally of all of the rain gardens and rain barrels.
Moskell is a natural resources community educator with
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County
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