The state of South Carolina gets more than the national average of rain fall each year. With runoff from the Blue Ridge Mountains into Greenville's watershed, our municipalities have lots of water to purify each day. As members of our community each of us can play a role in helping maintain a clean watershed. Harvesting runoff can be simple and fun.

Over the last several years we have heard a lot about rain barrels.  Such storage containers collect rainwater from rooftops. Mosquito-proof containers are used to store up rainwater runoff for later use. The water is great for watering the lawn or garden.

The benefits of harvesting rainwater runoff includes:

1.  PROTECTING YOUR LANDSCAPE. A rain barrel will eliminate much of the water flow coming down your drain spouts into your landscape.

2.  LOWERING UTILITY BILLS.  Using water from the rain barrel between rains prevents over use of water from the utility company resulting in a lower monthly bill.

3.  IMPROVING WATER VALUE.  Most plants actually thrive better with rainwater as opposed to city water. The byproducts in the treated city water is not best for your landscape and garden.

When thinking in terms of how big of a rain barrel to use, it really depends on your use. However, it may be helpful to consider that a 50 gallon barrel will fill up from a .5" rain fall off of a 200 square foot roof. Keep in mind that in 2010, Greenville received 30 storms that would have produced over .5" of rain.

For more details on how your family can harvest rainwater runoff, check out these sites:

Rainwater Harvesting For Homeowners
The Rain Barrel Man