Author: Rebekah Eastep

April showers bring May flowers—making now the perfect time to get a jump on the spring growing season. An easy, affordable way to put nature’s watery bounty to work is by installing a rain barrel on your property. This home improvement will collect and store rainwater for outdoor watering needs—reducing water costs and runoff pollution at the same time.

When attached to a downspout, rain barrels prevent rainwater from entering the storm drain, storing it for later use on lawns, gardens and plants. This alone makes rain barrels a valuable use of ‘free water.’ But by averting polluted runoff from the yard, a rain barrel helps to keep soil erosion and flooding at bay, too.

Rainwater flows along rooftops, driveways, and sidewalks, picking up dirt, trash, motor oil, fertilizers, pet waste and other pollutants. The debris washes into the storm drain system, then out to local creeks, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

You can find ready-to-install rain barrels in local hardware, home and garden and do-it-yourself stores across Hampton Roads. Or, for less than $100, you can make one by installing a hose bib to a heavy-duty trash can using a drill, screws and nylon screening. Follow our tutorial posted here!

Another option is to snag a spot in one of the popular askHRgreen.org rain barrel workshops, held throughout the region. Attendees pay $25 for a rain barrel they assemble during the workshop and then install at home. These low-cost workshops are made possible by grants from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund and the sale of Virginia Chesapeake Bay license plates.

Spots are limited so don’t delay. Get early access to workshop registration by becoming a Bay Star Home.

 New dates added!

Past 2024 workshop dates:

James City County – April 20, 2024 – James City County Library

York County – April 23, 2024 – Yorktown Library