Here in Northern California we’re quickly sliding into the rainy season. I can tell this as much from the “what, that was summer?” look on people’s faces as much as I can from the weather itself. So here comes the rain again and in the name of keeping our chins up, we give you Clean Rain – or, a good way to make use of the wet stuff beyond an excellent reason to bitch and moan.

Clean Rain is a rainwater harvesting system that that hooks up to your gutters. It uses simple technology to filter out junk, including a “Smart Sense First Flush” water diverter that keeps contaminants contained in the first runoff of water from the roof (dirt, dust, and ew stuff like bird droppings and dead/not-dead insects) from making your water-storage cut. After that first round, the device’s stainless steel mesh screening prevents mosquitoes, bugs and vermin from getting through. (‘Cause who wants vermin in their water?) The device can be installed with a hacksaw and a drill and fits all common downpipes. You can even paint the thing to match your house’s color scheme. Oh, and its materials are all recyclable.

Clean Rain is made by Aussie-based Rain Harvesting, so we gringos have to work our own metric conversions on the following Clean Rain spec: For every 1mm of rainfall per square meter of roof, you can collect 1 liter or rain.

What can you do with a bunch of clean rainwater? Aside from watering gardens (which dig rainwater best) or put into a pond (this is water), says EnviroGadget, “due to its cleanness it can also be used in a pool, or set to be stored in a large water storage tank for use in toilets or such devices.” (That said, I do wonder how clean my toilet water really needs to be.)

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I was visiting a friend up in Portland, and I noticed he was collecting rainwater for his garden. Why hadn’t I thought of this?! He was using beautiful old wine barrels that enhanced the yard with their presence, and he had the full set-up gathering water from drainage pipes off his house and a spigot near the bottom of the barrel for utilizing. Genius!

It turns out this is a relatively common practice. I did some research and found numerous types available online for purchase, such as these from Green Goat Rain Barrels. Ready-mades aren’t bad if you’re not up for the complete DIY experience, aka – find an old wine barrel up in wine country, hit the hardware store, drill hole, insert spigot, buy piping, drill another hole, etc., you get the idea. Although that could be part of the fun, if you’re the right type of person. Which hopefully you are. Because that would be quite cool.

All this is well and good, but I’m not sure I need such a fancy set up. Unfortunately, a large water barrel would take up most of the space on my small, urban deck. Still, not wanting to be wasteful, I wonder how I could re-use water. How about saving the water I use after washing lettuce or kale and taking it straight out to the garden to water the plants? Perfect!

If you do have space, here’s more information on how to set up your own rain barrel system.

Image: Aaron’s Oak Whiskey Rain Barrels

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April showers bring May flowers – and an opportunity to give your garden a healthy drink without chipping away at your efforts to conserve water. Why not get some rain barrels and collect the runoff from your gutters that would otherwise go to waste?

Although any old 55-gallon drum or keg will do, there’s no reason to litter your yard with tattered or rusty castoffs. Instead, give your local water department a call – many townships offer water barrels free of charge to local residents. Those that don’t often hold workshops on other ways to conserve water, or offer incentives to citizens willing to secure barrels on their own.

If you’re feeling feisty, make your own rain water collection system for about the price of a lunchtime panini and iced chai tea. Position them underneath your gutters’ downspouts and snag the runoff during the next rainfall. As the smart folks at Sustainablog point out, even if you filter it first, the water you collect is better suited for drenching thirsty garden than slaking a parched throat.

If you’d rather just buy a rain barrel, there are some really neat ones available online. Go southwestern with a terra cotta rain catcher outfitted with its own spigot, or consider this swanky-chic barrel created by Dutch designer Bas van der Veer, and unearthed by Re-nest.

Images: majad3v and fhashemi

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