Rain Barrels of Fun
How much water will your roof yield? :
- Determine the portion of roof that drains to your downspout.
- Determine the roof drainage area (length x width) in feet for square feet.
- Roof square feet x inches of rainfall x 0.6 = gallons of water collected.
Example: 1. Roof drainage area is 24’ x 20’. This is equal to 480 square feet. |
How much do I need? :
- Determine the area of your garden (length x width) in feet for square feet.
- Determine the amount of water desired in inches. (0.25 inches is a good amount for watering)
- Garden square feet x inches x 0.6 = gallons needed
Example: 1. Garden area is 10’ x 35’. This is equal to 350 square feet. |
How much area will my collected water cover? :
- Estimate the gallons of water collected.
- Determine the amount of water desired in inches.
- Gallons collected (divided by) inches of water desired (divided by) 0.6 = Square foot area that can be watered
Example: 1. 55 gallons (1 barrel) collected. |
Why do we use 0.6 to convert square feet to gallons?
1 cubic foot of liquid = 7.48052 gallons (standard conversion)
1 cubic foot = 12” x 12” x 12”
We are only using 1 “ of a cubic foot which is 1/12 of the cubic foot.
7.48052 12 = 0.623 gallons