On June 26, 2024, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a drought warning for Fauquier County based on the presence and severity of hydrologic drought. This resulted in mandatory outdoor water restrictions including prohibition of lawn irrigation systems.
As my wife is an avid gardener, this has resulted in exclusive hand watering of our home's vegetable and flower gardens using the rain barrel we installed in 2018 which has worked great... But a single rain barrel is no longer sufficient to tide things over in between rain showers.
As such, this month, a 2nd rain barrel was installed in tandem with the first which hopefully can provide sufficient outdoor watering needs.
As with the first rain barrel installation, a stone platform was built with concrete pavers to elevate the rain barrel to make it easier to fill a watering can.
If you are curious about the components we used, here's the list:
• Good Ideas RW50-KHA Rain Wizard Rain Barrel 50-Gallon
• EarthMinded DIY Rain Barrel Diverter and Parts Kit - Contains all the parts, hoses, connectors, drill bits, etc to connect the rain barrel to the downspout.
• EarthMinded FlexiFit Diverter 3 x 4 Inch - Our downspout is 3x4 inches which required a larger diverter than what comes in the above kit.
Regarding the stone platform the rain barrel is sitting on, I just got a bunch of trapezoid shaped concrete pavers from Home Depot.
Typically, with a single good thunderstorm, it will completely fill up from empty in about 10 minutes. About 30-60 minutes with a gentle rainfall. A full rain barrel will provide enough water for our home's garden and outdoor plants for about 1-2 weeks.
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