use downspout water
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The downspout of the eaves trough runs from the roof right down to ground level. You'll need to shorten it enough to get the rain barrel underneath the spout.
The downspouts will house drip tubing and will be used as decorative stands with the rain gutters. They can be bought at any sheet metal warehouse for about $30 per ten-foot section.
Use a downspout diverter if necessary to make sure that the rainwater from your gutters is directed into your barrel. A diverter also will provide you with a screen to prevent debris and insects from entering your barrel.
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Direct downspouts out onto lawns and garden beds.
Use open pavers, gravel or other types of pavement that let rain in.
Create swales to direct rooftop rain toward your plants.
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Access to a downspout - While you should not place your rain garden near the foundation, it is helpful for water collection if you place it where you can extend a down spout out to it. This is not required, but is helpful.
The gutters and downspouts along the edges of your roof are the water transportation system of your rainwater harvester.
Gutters and a downspout. If you don't already have rain gutters on your house, this one-time investment is the biggest cost you'll face. High quality gutters can be rather expensive, but even the least-expensive gutter system will suffice.
This gets easier every year as more garden centers carry rain barrels and other products intended to capture this precious liquid that would otherwise run through your downspout and away from your landscape.
When setting them up near your downspouts make sure you have some diversion system in place to allow the water to run through your gutters when your barrels or full or divert the water to another rain barrel.
If water from a downspout is already diverted into your garden, lawn or a landscape area, it's probably already being put to good use. Just make sure there are no erosion issues and that the water is being directed away from your home's foundation.
Most people already have gutters and downspouts attached to their roofs to transport rainwater away from the building. Ideally, the gutters should be covered with a leaf screen to keep debris from entering the system.
If you have a small yard, you can install rain barrels under your downspouts. Modern rain barrels are constructed of materials suitable for a variety of home styles. Rain barrels may be made of wood, metal, or plastic.
That means cleaning the gutters and downspouts if they are clogged. Make sure there are no rusty or leaky spots where water drips over the eaves and lands next to the foundation.
Attach a rain barrel to your downspout to gather water to use in your garden. Go one step further and direct rainwater into a cistern for indoor use.
A dry well is simply a wooden or plastic box buried in the ground under a downspout, with or without a bottom, and with a drainpipe to redistribute excess runoff.
Rain Barrels-barrels that are placed under downspouts and used to collect rainwater, which can be used to water plants.
Rain Gardens-gardens that are designed to manage stormwater runoff and planted with wetland or wet meadow species.
Clean your gutters and downspouts to remove fallen leaves and other debris. Plugged gutters can cause serious damage to your home as well as your garden when the winter rain and snow arrives.
Instead of simply letting downspouts dump water into the garden, consider installing drainage grates underground to receive the runoff and carry it away to safer areas. The grates can be removed for cleaning from time to time.
Regular maintenance can be a key to protecting your property against erosion, too. Something as simple as checking rain gutters, downspouts and drainpipes before winter rains hit can be vital in preventing `The Great Terrain Robbery.' ...
5. Catch rain water - Make your own rain barrel with a trash can and a piece of window screen and put it under your downspout to collect rain water when it does rain.
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However, water is needed in summer for their window boxes, hanging baskets and pots, so Joe uses his own system to collect rainwater from the gutters and downspouts. It's a 55-gallon barrel he found in his father's wine cellar! ...
area, paths from porches lined with solar lanterns, shade from pergolas, and a small lawn area using drought-tolerant grasses like buffalograss and blue grama. This zone could take advantage of rainfall runoff from the roof line and gutter downspouts.
Note what happens around gutter downspouts, ditches, and any low spots.
Soil drainage. Soil's ability to allow water to percolate through is essential to good drainage.
 See also: Water, Plant, Soil, Gutter, Yard
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