The Realist Idealist: Rain barrels hold a drop in the bucket of a downpour
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In the latest installment of the Realist Idealist, our conservation-oriented columnist Susan Carpenter takes on yet another water-saving project. She writes:
A few months ago I decided to replicate the pilot rainwater harvesting program that the L.A. Bureau of Sanitation kicked off in Mar Vista last July. The $1-million program outfitted 600 homes with one 55-gallon rain barrel and provided free downspout diversions, plus installation. What the city hoped to get in return was 584,100 gallons of rain stored annually that could be used for outdoor irrigation instead of flowing over paved surfaces, picking up contaminants and flushing out to the ocean untreated. During L.A.’s rainy season, more than 100 million gallons of untreated storm water flow out to the ocean every day.
Click here to see the full story and read how this endeavor turned out. To read Carpenter’s other columns breaking down the labor and financial cost of greening a home, click here for our story gallery.
-- Deborah Netburn
