Although Earth Day has passed, we should always be working to make our communities more sustainable and resilient to change. At Flows To Bay, we view every day as Earth day since every day is an opportunity to conserve water and keep our beautiful waterways pollution-free!
Even as we transition from a record wet season to warmer and drier months, stormwater pollution and landscape runoff can still threaten the health of our local creeks, the San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. This is because water that flows from our buildings and lawns can transport harmful pollutants such as litter and animal waste from our urban landscape down our untreated storm drains and into our local waterways. Luckily, rain barrels and rain gardens are great ways to capture and manage runoff before it reaches our storm drains and can damage our local waterways and the precious organisms that depend on them.
Schools happen to be perfect locations to integrate these rainwater harvesting features that serve to save water, reduce runoff, and improve stormwater quality in our urban environment. Click here to learn more about Flows To Bay’s efforts to create rainwater resilient schools in partnership with the San Mateo County Sustainable and Climate Ready Schools Partnership Network.
On March 25th, Flows To Bay partnered with Each Green Corner and a local Rainwater Harvesting Specialist named Chris Corvetti to install a daisy chain rain barrel system at Central Middle School (CMS) in San Carlos. The project served as an opportunity for the community to come together to learn hands-on about the rain barrel installation process and for the school to increase their capacity to capture stormwater and prevent stormwater pollution.
Central Middle School’s Daisy Chain Rain Barrel Installation
Ten enthusiastic community volunteers attended the hands-on workshop. The skill level varied tremendously within the group, but the beauty of the event was how accessible it was for anyone who just wants to learn the basics about rain barrels and how to install them properly. In fact, there was even one fourth grade student who participated!
This workshop is a great example of what Flows To Bay can organize for other schools in the county, so let’s take a deeper look at each step of the installation process.
Learning the Basics
The first step of the workshop was making sure that all of the attendees were up to speed. So, our amazing rainwater harvesting specialist Chris gave a brief presentation on stormwater pollution and the basic anatomy of rain barrel systems.
Chris explained how rain barrels function to help us prevent stormwater pollution. Then, she introduced all of the components that come with the BlueBarrel DIY-RainKit that we would be using to set up the new system at Central Middle School. BlueBarrel’s rain barrel system is particularly affordable and sustainable because it’s made from repurposed 55-gallon barrels.
If you are interested in purchasing a BlueBarrel DIY-RainKit for your home or school, don’t forget to use Flows To Bay’s promo code to get 10% off! Make sure to also check out our rain barrel and rebate page to see if you are eligible for up to $200 in rebates through the Countywide Rain Barrel Rebate Program and Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA).
Plumbing Skills
After we covered the basics, it was time to get to work! Chris showed us how to cut PVC pipes and glue them to the repurposed BlueBarrels so we could create the daisy chain system.
BlueBarrel’s daisy chain system allows you to easily connect as many barrels as you want to each other so there is no limit to the amount of storage capacity that you can install! Although it may seem complex, the system is actually very simple. When water flowing from your downspout (think: gutter) fills up the first barrel, the extra water flows through the overflow hole on the bottom and into the next barrel. You can learn more about how this system works on their website.
This simple yet powerful system allowed us to set up four 55-gallon rain barrels, with a total storage capacity of 220 gallons of water!
Heavy Lifting Before Lunch
Once we set up the plumbing, we moved the rain barrels from the school’s courtyard to their final home next to our chosen rain gutter and above a nearby planter box.
Then it was time for lunch! To reward everyone for their hard work, Flows To Bay brought sandwiches, snacks and beverages for all of the attendees.
Creating A Drip Irrigation System
After lunch, we all got our hands dirty and spent some time removing weeds from the planter adjacent to the rain barrels. You can really see just how much we removed in the images below.
The next item on the agenda was to create an automatic drip irrigation system that feeds overflow water from the rain barrels into the nearby planter of fig trees. First, we configured the rain barrels to a flow controller and pump with an automatic timer that will make it easy for students at the school to water the planter on a regular basis.
Next, we cut a gardening hose and attached it to the barrels to create the drip irrigation system that feeds into the planters (see the black piping in the image on the right).
The newly installed drip irrigation system at CMS. (Right)
At Flows To Bay, every day is Earth day.
Next Steps at CMS
The installation was a great success, but the work does not stop there! Each Green Corner, who donated the 4 barrels we installed during this event, will continue to work with the school to install mulch and additional plants in the nearby planter.
That’s all it takes! The result of our combined efforts was a newly installed daisy chain rain barrel system that has the potential to harvest over 8,000 gallons of water over the course of a year and feeds overflow water into the garden right next to it. Central Middle School will benefit tremendously from this addition of green infrastructure that can help capture, clean and absorb stormwater runoff on campus.
Even though Flows To Bay helped organize the event, this was truly a hands-on workshop, so we want to give a special shout out to all of the residents who attended and made this installation possible. You all demonstrate just how much our community shows up and embraces every day as earth day.
Stormwater pollution prevention starts with you! Not sure where you or your school should start? Flows To Bay is here to help! Reach out to Flows To Bay and we’ll help you get set up with a rain barrel or rain garden project on your campus.
