Stormwater runoff is a major problem in metropolitan areas. Philadelphia Water Department is taking steps to change it’s aging infrastructure for the better!
http://phillywatersheds.org/storage-wars-philadelphias-green-infrastructure-takes-lee-and-irene
As the height of gardening season slows down and fall sets in I’m selling less and less rain barrels. I still have a small number in stock for those sales that happen from time to time and will still be building rain barrels as needed throughout the winter. I told myself last winter that I’d make a good amount of stock to have ready for spring. Needless to say it didn’t happen. I’ll try again this winter, buying rain barrel parts to let stock sit idle may not be the best idea, and they do take up copious amounts of room in the garage. We will have to wait and see.
In the mean time I have been invited to Philadelphia International Airport. They want to buy one of my barrels for their annual auction event and get my perspective on managing rain water. I don’t know if I’m enough of an authority on rain water management to officially consult at a facility like the airport, but I’m also very happy to talk to them about it and get a tour!
Last night I attended the launch party for the new book “Where to Bike: Philadelphia” written by Julie Lorch. She contacted me last winter to talk about the bike rides I have taken my son on and wanted to get my take on bicycle riding in Philadelphia. It’s a great book for our city, especially now since so much positive change is happening for cyclists in Philadelphia. Great job Julie!
I have been invited be an exhibitor at the 6th Annual Greenfest Philly on Saturday, September 10 at Headhouse Square here Philadelphia, PA. Showing off the rain barrels I make and talking with people about the benefits of collecting rain water.
I’ve donated a rain barrel to the event that will be part of a special promotion, and will have a couple on-site for sale. See you there!
Here is a rain water calculation made by someone who has purchased a couple rain barrels from me. He calculated how much rain water he collects from his roof.
Philadelphia’s average annual precipitation is 41.4 in or 0.11 in per day.
A row house roof 20′x30′ = 620 sq ft = 89,280 sq in
On average it will capture 89,280 sq in x 0.11 in = 10,127 cubic inches or 43.8 gal a day. In short it doesn’t take long to fill a 55 gal barrel.
Yes it was a hot day today, but I had to make a delivery. So I loaded up the bicycle and headed to East Passyunk Ave with a custom rainbarrel. Of course since I was heading south of Washington I needed to stop at Taco Loco for a snack.
Since summer is in full swing our gardens are in need of water more than ever. Tomatoes especially need lots of water, and I know they are number one on everyone’s list for the backyard garden. It’s easy to maintain your garden and keep your costs low. Try to harvest rain water from your downspout into a rain barrel. You’ll be glad you did!
I delivered two rain barrels out to the Germantown section of Philadelphia ye
sterday. I met Jacques who writes a blog called Philly Eco City. He has a great garden and needed a way to water it without turning on the tap. Enjoy those barrels Jacques, and thanks for the press!
Tonight I’m headed to the Bike-In Movie hosted by the Bicycle Coalition and Whole Foods. I’m looking forward to watching this classic cycling movie while eating wood-oven pizza on the roof. Summer is here!
Local artist Zoë Cohen will be using two of my rain barrels for her project along the Schuylkill River this week between 10am and 6pm. Be sure to see what’s happening along the Schuylkill River Path during the Art in the Open Festival here in Philadelphia.
Earlier in the month I delivered four rain barrels to Juniata Park Academy in North Philadelphia. A few of the teachers there started building a garden classroom with their students. I can’t wait to visit again to see the progress, they will be growing vegetables this spring and next fall.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the write up GreensGrow Farm did about me on their blog. If you don’t already know about GreensGrow they are an urban farm in the Kensington neighborhood. I’ve been a member of their Workshare program, this will be my 3rd year volunteering for a reduced price of my CSA share during this growing season.
In other water news I’m anxious to start reading the newbook by Charles Fishman, the same writer who wrote “The Wal-Mart Effect”. His recent book “The Big Thirst – The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water” addresses our relationship with water and how we need to treat that relationship with more respect. Collecting rain water in a barrel is a simple first step in this process.
Last month I spent 6 days visiting a friend who is doing a Fulbright project in the Dominican Republic. We spent most of our time in the town of Monte Plata away from the coasts that see a lot of tourists. Life is so different there, while being very rich. It was simple, relaxed and gave us a better idea of what life was like in the countryside.
The house we lived in had no hot water for kitchen or bathing use. A simple water pump was used to pump from the supply to a large holding tank in the roof. This is how we had water pressure for the house. We had to pump to the roof whenever the water was available, and when the tank was empty then we had to wait to refill again. The water wasn’t available when we needed it, imagine that in the states!
My son Owen and I on the roof where we stayed in Monte Plata, watching the sunset. That's the water tank next to us.
Drinking water was entirely different. We used a 5 gallon water cooler type jug that was delivered by truck. The water truck would drive around town during the day announcing it’s arrival just like the ice cream trucks that we are used to, it just played a different song. We would put the empty jug outside our front door and the truck would stop to swap the empty container for a full one. Water and delivery cost 30 pesos, less than a US dollar!
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