maintaining your rain barrel buy a rain barrel · • keep your rain barrel spigot closed when you...
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• Salesarepre-paidonly.Noon-sitecashorchecksales.RainbarrelscanonlybepurchasedonlineattheMWRDwebsite(www.mwrd.org)withacreditordebitcard.
• Youmustprovideyourpre-paidreceiptforpickup.• Thereisalimitoftwobarrelsperhousehold.• Pleasedonotarriveearly.Policewillaskyoutoleave.
NoparkingisallowedalongMWRDfacilityfencesorpropertylines.
MAINTAINING YOUR RAIN BARREL• Keepyourrainbarrelspigotclosedwhenyouarenot
usingthewater.Overflowwaterwillspillfromtheventonthetopandtheholeonthesidenearthetop.
• Regularlycheckyourgutters,downspouts,rainbarrelwaterintakescreen,rainbarrelmosquitoscreenandrainbarrelspigotforleaks,obstructionsordebris.
• Keepyourrainbarrellidsealed.• Drainyourbarrelbeforetemperaturesdrop
belowfreezing.• Inwinter,keepyourrainbarrelspigotopensowater
doesnotaccumulateintherainbarrelandfreeze.Youcanalsoturnitupside-downorbringitinsidetoensurenowateraccumulatesinthebarrel.
• Lubricatethemetallockingringwithhouseholdoil.
PREVENTING MOSQUITOESYourrainbarrelcomeswithamosquito-proofscreenunderthelid.Whenthemosquitonettingisintact,andtherearenoleakswheremosquitoescanenterthebarrel,yourrainbarrelshouldbemosquito-free
• Placeyourbarrelonaperviouslandscapedsurfacesothatoverflowwatersoaksintothegroundinsteadofpoolingonpavedsurfaces.
• Keepyourrainbarrellidsealed.• Keepyourbarrelfreeoforganicmaterial.• Removeaccumulatedwaterfromthetopofthebarrel every3-4daysduringtherainyseason.Mosquitosneed
atleast4daysofstandingwatertodeveloplarva.• Ifyoubelievemosquitoesmaybebreedinginyourrain
barrel,emptyitcompletely,tokillallmosquitolarvaethatmaybeinyourbarrel.
DISCLAIMERWithproperinstallation,maintenanceanduse,yourrainbarrelshouldfunctionproperly.TheMetropolitanWaterReclamationDistrictofGreaterChicagoassumesnoliabilityfortheinstallation,maintenanceoruseofyourrainbarrel.Wearenotresponsibleforanyrainbarrelmalfunction;propertydamageorinjuryassociatedwithyourrainbarrelmalfunction;propertydamage,orinjuryassociatedwithyourrainbarrel,itsaccessoriesorcontents.
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METROPOLITANWATERRECLAMATIONDISTRICTof GREATERCHICAGO
BOARD of COMMISSIONERS
Terrence J. O’BrienPresident
Barbara J. McGowanVice President
Cynthia M. SantosChairman of FinanceMichael A. Alvarez
Frank AvilaPatricia Horton
Kathleen Therese MeanyDebra Shore
Mariyana T. Spyropoulos
Kevin J. FitzpatrickActing Executive Director
Installation, Placement and Purchasing GuideMetropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
RAIN BARRELS
FOR MORE INFORMATIONContacttheMWRDOfficeofPublicAffairsat312.751.6633oremailpublicaffairsinfo@mwrd.org.
RAIN BARRELS
Buy a Rain Barrel TheMetropolitanWaterReclamationDistrictofGreaterChicagoprovidesrainbarrelstoourconstitu-entsatcost,foronly$51each.Tobuyarainbarrel:
Rain barrels are availalable for pick up at four locations. Check the scheduled pick up dates and times on our website when you place your order.
Ridgeland Avenue Solids Management Area119thStreetandRidgelandAvenue,Worth
Stickney Water Reclamation Plant6001W.PershingRoad,Cicero
North Side Water Reclamation Plant3500W.HowardStreet,Skokie
Egan Water Reclamation Plant550S.Meacham,Schaumburg
1 Gotowww.mwrd.organdpayfortherainbarrelwithacreditordebitcard.Setyourbrowsertoallowpopupsforthesitetoworkcorrectly.Printyourreceipt.
2 TakeyourprintedreceipttothenearestMWRDrainbarrelpickuplocation.
Scanthiscodewithyourweb-enabledsmartphonetogetmorerainbarrelinformationandtoplaceanorder.
PLACING YOUR RAIN BARREL
• Placeyourrainbarrelbyyourhouseorgarageinanareaclosetotheplantsandgardenthatyouwatermost.Otherdownspoutscanbedisconnectedanddirectedintoyouryard.
• Pickaspotwhereyourbarrel’soverflowwillsoakintoyourownyard,andnotyourneighbors’property.
• Puttherainbarrelonapervioussurface(e.g.landscapedsurfacethatallowsoverflowfromyourrainbarreltosoakintotheground),otherwiserainbarrelwateroverflowduringheavyrainscouldpoolorseepintoyourhouseorgaragefoundation.
• Placetherainbarreluponconcreteblockstoallowgravitytoincreasetheflowandsoawateringcanwillfitunderneaththespigot.
INSTALLING YOUR RAIN BARREL
Tools: Hacksaw. For aluminun downspouts: 6 screws and a screwdriver. For PVC down-spouts: PVC cement.
1.Placeyourbarrelnearthedownspoutyouselectedtoplanhowtodirectthedownspout.
2.Disconnectyourdownspoutbysawingthedown-spoutabovewherethetopoftherainbarrelwillbe.Leaveroomfortheelbowtobeattached.
3.Attachadownspoutelbowtotheendofyourdownspout,directingtherainthroughtheplasticscreenventontop.Foranaluminumdownspout,se-cureittotheelbowwithscrews.ForaPVCdown-spout,secureittotheelbowwithPVCcement.
4.Optional:Attachahosetothespigot,and/ortotheoverflowholeonthetopsideofthebarrel.Makesurethatthattheoverflowisdirectedintoyourownyard.
What is a rain barrel?Th eMWRD’s55gallonrainbarrelisafrost-proof,durableplasticresincontainerthatcollectsandstoresrainwaterfromyourrooftop(viayourhome’sdisconnect-eddownspout)forlateruseonyourlawnorgarden,orotheroutdooruses.
Will my barrel over� ow when it rains?Probably.A1,000squarefootroofrunsoffapproximately310gallonsofwaterinahalf-inchrain.Iftheroofhas4downspoutseachacceptingroughlythesameamountofwater,75gallonswillrunintoonedown-spout,causingthebarreltooverflowby20gallons.
What should I do with the over� ow?Makesureoverflowdoesnotcausefloodingorflowintoaneighbor’sproperty.Someoptionsforoverflow:
• Connecttheoverflowingbarreltoasecondrainbarrel.
• Ensurethereisenoughpervioussurfacearoundthebarreltosoakupoverflow.Treesandplantswithdeeprootsaregoodabsorb-ers.Concreteandasphaltarenotacceptable.
• Directoverflowbackintothesewerwithadownspoutdiverter(availableonlineatvariouswebsites).
Why would I want a rain barrel in my yard?Rainbarrelsareprimarilyusedasawaterconservationtool,butcanalsobehelpfulinmanagingstormwater.UsedinconjunctionwithotherstormwaterBestManagementPracticesthroughoutyourneighborhood,theycanimprovewaterqualityinourrivers.Lawnandgardenwateringcanuseupto40percentofyourhouseholdwaterdur-ingsummermonths.Youcansignificantlyreducetheamountofwateryouconsumebyusingrainwaterinsteadoftapwater.Th ebarrel’sspigotisthreadedsoyoucanattachagardenhosedirectlytothebarrel.Watercollectedinyourbarrelcanbeusedforwa-teringyourgardenandlawn,washingyourcarorbike,cleaningworkbootsandtools,orwateringpottedplants.
Is a rain barrel right for my house?Arainbarrelmaybeagoodideaforyou:
1.Ifyouusetherainwatercollectedoftenafterrains(i.e.weekly).
2.Ifyoucanplaceyourbarrelunderneathadisconnecteddownspout.
3.Ifthelandsurroundingtherainbarrelslopesawayfromyourhouseandsur-roundinghomes.
4.Iftheareasurroundingtherainbarrelhasenoughpervious(water-absorbing)surfacetosoakupexcesswaterfromoverflows.
Downspout
Downspout elbow - attached with screws (if you have an aluminum downspout) or PVC cement (for PVC downspouts).
concrete blocks
DownspoutCut here to allow the downspout elbow to direct water to the rain barrel.
Pervious (water absorbing) surface