Sally Scalera

Brevard County Horticulture Extension Agent
3695 Lake Drive -- Cocoa FL 32926 -- 321-633-1702

Rain barrels - workshop or make your own

Sept. 15, 2007

Just when you think the drought is finally over, the rain shuts off again. Eventually though, this drought will end and when it does wouldn’t it be neat to be able to collect the rain that falls off your roof to water your plants? Why use tap water when you could recycle rain water! Not only will you be saving money on your water bill, but you will also be helping all of our rivers by reducing stormwater runoff that carries pollution. If you are interested in harvesting rain, then you may want to attend one of our Rain Barrel Workshops in October.

The first Rain Barrel Workshop is set for Thursday, October 11th here at the Brevard County Extension office. Our address is 3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa, 32926. The workshop will run from 9-11 a.m. The second Rain Barrel Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, October 20st at St. John’s River Water Management District Palm Bay Service Center at 525 Community College Parkway, Palm Bay, 32909. The Palm Bay workshop will be from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon. Both workshops cost $35 which will cover the cost of the supplies, the barrel and a DVD that shows you how to construct a rain barrel so that you can make more on your own.

To Make Your Own

We also have a list of supplies for anyone who is interested in making their own rain barrel but don’t necessarily want to attend a workshop or don’t want to have to wait to get a rain barrel. Our goal is to have 1,000 rain barrels in Brevard County by 2010! We want to encourage everyone who makes or buys a rain barrel to register their rain barrel with us. Everyone who registers their rain barrel along with a photograph of their installed rain barrel will receive a free t-shirt!

Here is the list of supplies that are needed to make a rain barrel.

  • Food grade 55 gallon plastic drum can be found at Shonk Drum Service is located at 3245 West New Haven Blvd. Ste. 12 in West Melbourne, FL 32904. Their phone number is (321) 288-4762 and a barrel costs $20.00.
  • 3/4 inch hose spigot
  • 15/16" drill bit
  • Drill
  • PVC Cement
  • Flexible downspout extender
  • Caulk
  • Screen for overflow or top of barrel
  • 1/2 inch PVC compression coupling for overflow (or larger for overflow connection)
  • 13/8" drill bit (or larger for overflow connection)
  • Screen to cover overflow connector and any other holes
  • Scissors

If you are interested in painting your rain barrel here are the instructions.

  • Wash the outside of your barrel to remove any debris or oils.
  • If you want to change the color of the barrel completely use Krylon plastic bonding spray paint.
  • You may also want to use acrylic paint for detail.Small pots of acrylic paint can be found at Wal-Mart in the spray paint isle.
  • The last step is to spray polyurethane over your masterpiece. Marine grade polyurethane like Helmsman has UV protectant.

Houses with an existing gutter system can collect all of the water from the roof by having a rain barrel at the base of each downspout. For most houses this would mean at least four rain barrels. Many houses have a large roof that may need more then one barrel at the end of each downspout. A number of barrels can be connected so that all of the rain is collected and none is lost through the overflow coupling.

For homes that don’t have gutters at all, there may be areas where the majority of the rainwater pours off the roof during a hard rain. A rain barrel, with the lid cut out and screening secured over the top, could be placed there to collect the majority of the rain water. The screening keeps mosquitoes from breeding in the water.

To sign up for either the Brevard County Extension office or St. John’s River Water Management District Palm Bay Service Center Rain Barrel Workshops just email dard@mail.ucf.edu or call (407) 823-4145.

For anyone who already has a rain barrel, why not register it? It’s easy to do, just download a registration form from http://www.brevstorm.org/pp_sprinklers_downspouts.cfm (if you don’t have a computer just give us a call at 633-1702 and we can mail you the registration form.)

The rain barrel registration will earn you a free t-shirt when a photograph of the installed rain barrel and the registration form are returned to Elizabeth Melvin at 2725 Judge Fran Jamison Way, Suite A217, Viera, Florida 32940.