Harvesting rain water-for when you need it!

[Straight Shooter]

Informative posts, one and all. My mind was blown when I fairly recently found out it was actually illegal to collect rainwater on private property in some areas! I simply could not believe it.

[Ryno12]

Curious if there's anyway to prevent mosquito infestation with these? I live in WI & any standing water will have mosquito larvae swimming in no time.
I love the concept but I certainly don't need more mosquitos.

[skp]

Curious if there's anyway to prevent mosquito infestation with these? I live in WI & any standing water will have mosquito larvae swimming in no time.
I love the concept but I certainly don't need more mosquitos.

I have a 330 gallon industrial tote to collect rain water. The hole on top of it just has a fine wire mesh which seems to keep the bugs out. I'd say the holes are probably .05" maybe? The only issue is that I have to scrape off leaves and other crap that collects once in a while.

[skp]

Yep. Rain barrels will most likely get algae growth after a while. Mine are dark blue but let enough light through. To make some funky water. That, and they collect a lot of heat from the sun, which makes matters worse.

I rattle canned mine with a couple of coats of paint and it seems to stay pretty clean. Mine does sit in a shaded area though, and I'm sure that helps.
I would imagine dropping a cup of bleach in there once a month or so might help too.

[Co-gnARR]

Curious if there's anyway to prevent mosquito infestation with these? I live in WI & any standing water will have mosquito larvae swimming in no time.
I love the concept but I certainly don't need more mosquitos.

All kinds of ways...a little ingenuity goes a long way. I have paint strainers on the down spout feed ing my barrels. The strainers collect junk from the roof, and also keep the bugs out. My storage barrels have scrap screen from my old windows on the vents. I have not done it myself, but I heard of people putting a bit of olive oil in the barrels. The oil is edible, so no worries about it contaminating your veggies, and it keeps the larvae from breaking the surface of the water once they mautre. Kills the mosquitos but then you have their remains settling in your tank.

[Co-gnARR]

I have a 330 gallon industrial tote to collect rain water. The hole on top of it just has a fine wire mesh which seems to keep the bugs out. I'd say the holes are probably .05" maybe? The only issue is that I have to scrape off leaves and other crap that collects once in a while.

For the fill pipe on my barrels I'm thinking of getting 4" PVC pipe, cutting one end at a 45* angle and putting large mesh screen on it. The flat end will have the paint strainer or fine screen on it. The flat end will into the opening of the barrel, and the angled end will ssit a few inches below the gutter drain. The angle should act as a self cleaning strainer- the rain water passes through the screen and the angle should be steep enough to allow large junk to wash off. The fine mesh collects any thing passing the upper screen, and keeps the bugs out.

[TXBK]

Curious if there's anyway to prevent mosquito infestation with these? I live in WI & any standing water will have mosquito larvae swimming in no time.
I love the concept but I certainly don't need more mosquitos.

http://www.summitchemical.com/mosquito/mosquito-dunks/

[Ryno12]

http://www.summitchemical.com/mosquito/mosquito-dunks/

Interesting, thanks.

Screens & those mosquito dunks should do the trick.

[skp]

For the fill pipe on my barrels I'm thinking of getting 4" PVC pipe, cutting one end at a 45* angle and putting large mesh screen on it. The flat end will have the paint strainer or fine screen on it. The flat end will into the opening of the barrel, and the angled end will ssit a few inches below the gutter drain. The angle should act as a self cleaning strainer- the rain water passes through the screen and the angle should be steep enough to allow large junk to wash off. The fine mesh collects any thing passing the upper screen, and keeps the bugs out.

Hm. That angle piece sounds like it would be worth a shot but you might end up losing quite a bit of water during heavy rain storms. Even though the mesh on my barrel is level, I can see quite a bit of water spilling out on the sides. That could be partly due to dirt though.

[Co-gnARR]

Informative posts, one and all. My mind was blown when I fairly recently found out it was actually illegal to collect rainwater on private property in some areas! I simply could not believe it.

I know! How can it be illegal to collect rain water? Although studies show that irrigating lawns and vegetable plots with harvested water reduces overall demand on municipal water supplies, riparian law states that water is part of the land it falls on and is not something that can be owned. It therefore must be left to run its course, even when demand drains resevoirs the natural rain flow is supposed to replenish.