General
Those who live in Atlantic Canada (as well as many other parts of Canada) know it’s been a dry summer. More than a few dug wells in our region have run dry and stayed that way for quite some time. The drought may also impact our agricultural sector, municipal water supplies, and industries that rely on reliable water sources (restaurants, processing plants) for a while yet.
Our trade off here comes in the relative lack of severe weather this summer. Fiona, as a weather event, dropped nearly 200mm of rainfall (192 mm in Osborne Head and 150mm in Truro). Those numbers go a long way when looking at monthly rainfall statistics. Of course, Fiona had other impacts that causes significant challenges across the region.
The lesson here is that if storms continue to remain more out to sea (not a completely bad thing), our current water challenges may start to look like the new normal. That may require some adjustments in how we think about our routine and unfettered access to potable water.
Would Rain Barrels Help?
Is it time to promote the use of rain barrels in urban areas to maintain a supply that can be used for gardening, etc.? This kind of approach offers three key benefits:
- First, they provide a supply (even if modest) of water that can be used for gardening, etc. That reduces the demand placed on water systems (or wells). My two rain barrels provide about 200 US Gallons or about 757 litres of water. That has been more than enough to keep the plants wet without dipping significantly into the well supply.
- Second, they can help level out the demands placed on water and storm drainage systems. This is compounded in urban settings.
- Third, it reduces the demands on municipal water supplies. Those supplies must treat water (to make it potable) for drinking, cooking, washing, etc. A standard household using a 2-barrel system twice in a year would save about 1590 litres of treated water in that year. These numbers represent modest savings that grow as more systems are put in place.
The Cost Factor
On the cost front, I calculated the cost using a fairly simple approach. First, the base cost of the barrel was $80 and is rated to last about 10 years. I annualized this number to be about $8. Given my general belief that “Murphy is an overachiever,” I doubled that number to include maintenance. My costs grew to $16 per year.
The kit to divert rain from the eaves to the barrel cost about $25 and I paid about $30 for hoses to connect the two barrels. That added about another $5.5 dollars per year.
All told, our annualized cost rose to about $21.50 per year.
On the benefit side, I used the cost of $1.28 per 1000 litres. Needless to say, the numbers don’t lie (although my math wouldn’t be off). This won’t save you money (it may cost about $20 per year more), but is may help with some of the other issues. If the municipality put a small grant or something in place to cover the cost of 1 x barrel, the numbers are much more aligned.
Just a thought in terms of dealing with what may be yet another part of some of the challenges we face out here.