Free water! (you pick up)

Rain collection has been used in Oklahoma since the time of the pioneers. It fell out of use when modern irrigation systems became cheap & reliable enough to be useful for farms. It was brought back a bit with the dirty hippies, but then fell off the radar of public awareness. Today, with the green (notice I didn't capitalize) movement, rain collection systems are gaining in popularity as a way to keep gardens growing during drought conditions. Of course they are now more high-tech (and pricier!) than the ol' whiskey barrel & bucket style.

Home Depot, Lowes & other "big box" garden centers even carry them now. Most run $50 to $150, offer varied sizes & styles, and look similar to this:

Yeah, not too cute, eh? At least it is usefull, in that it is fast filling and has directions in American English (as opposed to the usual "Engrish" instructions written by Chinese 7-year-olds). Most connect to the downpout of the house gutters, and offer a spigot to connect to a standard water hose.

If that thing is just too ugly for you, there are some very pretty ones available for more cash. Cherry wood finishes and such, but they start at $250. Since I support the cheap-asses frugal persons, building one yourself is always an option. If labor is free, total cost would be just materials runing $30 to $50.

Of course, with most barrels being around 6- or 70 gallons, they fill up fast. Especially on days like yesterday where we recieved twice our average June rainfall in one day.

(This pic is from 10 am; nowhere close to done that day.)

Yeah, 60 gallons wont cut it for that mess. However, there are companies in OK that can install 5000 gallon systems on your property. These can be buried or free-standing units. Cost is not cheap, and honestly wouldn't do much to prevent flooding. Thing is, it would be nice to have access to a huge amount of free water when it's 105 degrees next month.