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- Rain Gardens and Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater can help supplement your water use, saving you money and protecting our water supply. Rain that falls on your home and garden is a free supply of water that’s simple to capture, so don’t let yours go down the drain. For example, one inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot roof is over 620 gallons of water! Learn more about rain gardens and rainwater harvesting.
A rain garden moves rainwater collected from your roof or driveway to a low area in your garden allowing it time to soak into the soil. The soil beneath your garden is like a giant sponge, storing water for your plants and reducing the amount you need to run your sprinklers or drip irrigation during the summer.
Graphic credit: Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District
Rainwater harvesting is a technique used for collecting, storing and using rainwater for landscape irrigation and other uses. The rainwater is collected from various hard surfaces such as rooftops and/or other manmade aboveground hard surfaces in barrels or cisterns to use later for irrigation. The more storage you have, the more plants you can water later.
Track the rain this winter with a user-friendly rain gauge. Learn more about free water conservation devices.