Rain barrels are 'in' for Rappahannock farmers, gardeners

 As Rappahannock farmers and gardeners gird for what could be another dry summer, some have turned to alternative methods to protect their crops and gardens from drought.

Headed by the Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District (CSWCD), a new program to conserve water through the use of rain barrels has sparked local interest.

More than 200 residents have signed up for the district's rain barrel workshops, proof the area is still reeling from the effects of last year's drought, which dried up hundreds of wells in the county.

Many Rappahannock residents have jumped on board. Since word spread about the rain barrel program, the CSWCD has had non-stop calls from people wanting rain barrels, to the point where a waiting list has been established to handle the demand.

"I had people wanting four or five. One guy called and said he wanted 12," said Stephanie DeNicola-Turner, Education and Information Coordinator for the CSWCD. The waiting list is currently up to over 215 people in the five-county region.

Sperryville residents Jim and Liz Blubaugh are some of the lucky ones. They have six rain barrels collecting water from their roof, using the rain for watering Liz's vegetable and flower gardens.

"We're trying very hard to minimize our carbon footprints, what we do, what we use, what we reuse, and recycling. We use very little water," said the couple. "We've always collected rainwater, but we used to do it in buckets. We were trying our very best to conserve, so it seemed the rain barrels were a natural connection."

Likewise, Lisa Crosley, who attended CSWCD's rain barrel workshop in April at Mt. Vernon Farm, will use her rain barrel to conserve water, which otherwise could not be spared from her well.

"We're starting a garden and wanted to have extra water for that," she said. "We're on a well and we frequently run out of water at our house when it gets dry. This way we could still have water for the house and water our plants, plus it's environmentally friendly."

Although the area has received ample rain from a string of recent storms, the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force reported that lower-than-normal ground water is "still cause for some concern as the growing season progresses."

"My sunflowers wasted away last summer because we were concerned about water. Rather than to use it on the flowers, we let them go," said Mrs. Blubaugh. "I fully anticipated another hot, dry summer, and now my plants have a chance."

"We have to all think about this,” said Helen Williams. “If you live on a well and have a drought summer, you think about it.

"My rain water will be for the gardens, but it wouldn't do anything for my 55 acres,” she said.

In 2007, the northern Piedmont received little over half of its normal rainfall totals, suffering through 12 months of below-average precipitation.

In October, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine designated Rappahannock and other Virginia counties as drought disaster areas due to reductions in farm production caused by drought and high temperatures.

To conserve water and protect Virginia's drying streams and ponds, Clean Virginia Waterways, a non-profit organization based at Longwood University, started the rain barrel program through a partnership with Mt. Olive Pickle Company of North Carolina.

"They pickle in India and the U.S. says they can't use the barrels again, so they are basically a waste product. They either throw them out, or recycle them, or put them in storage," said DeNicola-Turner. "Mt. Olive happily said they would give us the barrels as long as we come to pick them up."

The CSWCD got involved in the pickle barrel project last May, after receiving a grant from the state, and gave away 100 barrels at its first workshop.

The CSWCD held its latest rain barrel workshop on June 7 at the Madison County Fairgrounds. More than 35 Madison residents attended and purchased 67 rain barrels.

During the workshops, each barrel is fitted with a faucet, an overflow adapter, and a screen for keeping out debris and mosquitoes. A hose can be used to connect barrels for overflow.

Depending on the size of the roof, the barrels can be filled to the brim with just a quarter of an inch of rain. A 1,200 square-foot roof could produce 700 gallons of water from just one inch of rain.

"There's a part of the water code in the commonwealth that says that when water falls from the sky, if you collect it before it hits the ground, it belongs to you. If it hits the ground, it becomes property of the municipality and they can charge you for it," DeNicola-Turner said.

Besides saving money, there are a number of environmental benefits to using rain barrels. Runoff from outdoor watering can cause erosion, plus carry fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals into streams. Rain barrels manage peak storm runoff.

Rainwater also has no added chemicals and is usually free of dissolved minerals. This untreated water is great for indoor plants, gardens and lawns, washing cars, and birdbaths.