Friends and I took over an overrun community garden plot which included this water barrel system. Both barrels are full and we’re unsure of the water quality (probably not good). What do we do with this setup?
by BeeAruh
Friends and I took over an overrun community garden plot which included this water barrel system. Both barrels are full and we’re unsure of the water quality (probably not good). What do we do with this setup?
by BeeAruh
15 Comments
Bong.
I don’t think the plants will mind that the water isn’t potable.
Drain, clean out and reuse if you are worried about the quality of the water.
You should just use it for the garden. That’s a great setup.
Shove it up your butt!
The plants drink it, not you.
Make moonshine🤷
What are your standards for irrigation water? What do you mean by “not good” and why do you think that? Runoff water is probably fine for irrigation if not chemically contaminated. If you don’t want to use runoff water just dump it into the ground right there. That’s where it was headed before this contraption intercepted it. Then your next question is where will you get water meeting your standards for irrigation?
Looks like a good set up, but appears to be leaning in this photo? If so, drain the barrels; rinse well and check for any blockages; inspect the wood and fix any thing that needs to be address (loose screws, rotted wood etc;) check the gutters and clean if needed; clear up the surrounding overgrowth where nescessary; if it’s standing on dirt, consider putting pavers under the feet to prevent future lean and to level out; and lastly, reconnect and use.
As others pointed out, it’s a pretty solid looking system, and with the nation’s water situation (if in the U.S.) this would definitely be useful.
Water plants and animals can drink it
Not gonna lie. Thought it was a still at first glance.
I can’t get past the idea of a still…..😁
Use it for the plants. The shed roof looks like it is metal, so the water coming from it should be fine, even for edible plants. And the plants won’t care about algae in the water.
If you decide to continue to use it for water storage, paint the barrels or otherwise cover them to block sunlight, otherwise you will have an algae problem. You can also throw a clean piece of copper pipe in each barrel.
Also recommend you add a splash pad under your overflow outlet.
What makes you suspicious of the water quality? The nifty thing about dirt, is that it filters out a lot of stuff from the water that flows through it, so water that’s full of crap, can still be safe for gardening.