Now that Mount Auburn has replaced these barrels with a 30,000 gallon underground cistern, these barrels are available for free. You can retrofit them to collect water at your home.  There are dozens of videos so the industrious home gardener or handy person can get started.  If you are interested in taking home a rain barrel please contact Candace Currie, at ccurrie@mountauburn.org or 617 – 607 – 1910.

Helpful Links:

eHow: How to Build a Rain Barrel

This Old House: How to install Rainwater Collection [Video]

This Old House: 4 Rain Barrel Options

National Geographic – Green Living: How to Keep Plastic Rain Barrels from Freezing

Mount Auburn’s Green Team leader, Candace Currie has been using a rain barrel in her home for several years.  She has found that the water pressure from the barrel is too low to run a drip-irrigation hose if the hose is placed ‘upstream’ from the barrel even though it is still lower than the barrel; therefore, there are solar-powered options available to remedy the problem.

 New England Rain Barrel Company – RainPerfect Solar Pump [Video]

Read parts 1 & 2 of this water conservation series:

Part 1: Watering the Plants in the Landscape

Part 2: Water Conservation in the New Greenhouse