Over seven billion gallons per day. That’s how much the EPA estimates is used nationwide on landscape irrigation. Now, no matter how you spin that, it’s far too much water. And the scary thing is most people don’t even think about it. I’ve got a friend who has a large, lush green lawn and I asked him what he did to make it look so nice.

“Man, I just get home, turn the water on and let it run most of the night,” he said.

“How often do you do that?” I asked.

“Mmm…’bout every day.”

All I could think was, “Every day? C’mon, man. That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?”

If you break that seven billion figure down into family use what you’ll find is that of the 400 gallons of water a family of four can use per day, almost a third of it is used outdoors. And of that water, over half is used to water lawns and gardens. The other half goes toward other outdoor uses such as washing cars, cleaning driveways and pool maintenance.

So what’s the big deal? Well, not only is too much water being used, but some experts say that more than half of the water that is used for residential landscape irrigation is wasted on things such as overwatering, evaporation and wind, and inefficient irrigation design. So you have far too many people out there watering their lawns too often and too long and spraying water all over pavement and other areas that waste the water supply.

It’s sad, really, but not hopeless and harvesting the natural form of the one thing we often waste can not only help preserve our water but also save us a few bucks as well. Rainwater collection can be incredibly easy (and doesn’t have to look like you live next to a toxic waste dump - see above photo) - rain falls on your roof, runs down your gutter and into your rain barrel. The barrel includes a spigot that you connect a hose to and by way of gravity you water your plants using the water you collected. It can get a bit more complicated if you implement a more advanced system that incorporates pumps, flow controls and such, but it doesn’t have to be. So here you have it - three easy steps to begin harvesting rain:

1. Buy a rain collection barrel (and a downspout attachment).

2. Place it beneath a downspout.

3. Wait for rain (or do a rain dance if it’s not filling as quick as you’d like)

4. (Optional) Buy a pump (electric or battery powered), allowing you to water your lawn from the rain barrel.

Wanna know how much you could potentially collect using a rain barrel? Rainbarrelguide does the math for us. Still wondering if you should invest in the practice of harvesting rain? Do the math yourself…it’s elementary.