Rain Barrels and Storm Water Management in Chicago

Rain Barrels and Storm Water Management in Chicago Laura L. Sanders

This is my home, on a quiet street in Chicago. It is an old farm house, built in 1887.

We are big organic gardeners. Look closely and find the two rain barrels that capture and store rain water. We use it to water the garden.

Here is a Google Earth image of our property. Like many in the neighborhood, we have a double lot: twice the size of the usual Chicago lot. (We wanted lots of garden space. ) In the oval, find the house and garage.

This zoomed-in view shows the property boundary. • How big is the property? • How does the area compare to an acre? Garden plots • How much of the property is in garden plots?

A common rule of thumb: garden plants need about an inch of water per week. To store rain water so we can water the garden once per week, how big a container do we need?

Rain Barrels This rain barrel probably came to the U. S. filled with olives. Notice that the downspout is directed into the top of the barrel. At the bottom is a tap we use to fill watering cans.

Our second barrel. We got them both fairly inexpensively through a program of the City of Chicago. (Think about it: why would the City be selling residents inexpensive rain barrels? )

Property boundary Roofline of house (appears to extend beyond property because satellite camera was not directly overhead) • What is the area of the roof?

When designing a stormwater management system, we have to know these things: How much rain is required to fill a barrel? Is it likely we will have a rain of that magnitude in a typical Chicago summer? How many barrels are needed to irrigate the garden?

To answer those questions, you will need to closely examine the satellite photos of the property and gardens, and the information on the next two slides.

This is a close-up of one barrel.

And this is a close-up of the second barrel.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS How big is the property? How does the area compare to an acre? How much of the property is in garden plots? To store rain water so we can water the garden once per week, how big a container do we need? What is the area of the roof? How much rain is required to fill a barrel? Is it likely we will have a rain of that magnitude in a typical Chicago summer? If so, how often? If not, how many rains will it take to fill the barrel? How many barrels are needed to irrigate the garden?