There is nothing like a drought to make people appreciate every drop of water.
Water shortages have increased the interest in rain barrels and tanks to capture rainwater, says Cheri Nelson of Clean Calgary.
“When it was very dry last year it made more people aware of saving water from their roof,” she said.
The not-for-profit environmental group sold more than 1,000 rain barrels last year during its one-day campaign. This year, on May 3, it plans to offer more barrels at two different sites in the city.
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The 35 and 45 gallon barrels are made from organic materials and come with a fitted spigot.
Some customers have bought three or four to catch a greater amount. Clean Calgary has also started offering barrels year round because with southern Alberta’s frequent chinook winds, snow melt is also conserved.
Rob and Vickie Cooper of Calgary Plastic Containers got into the rain barrel business almost by accident.
They offer a 45 gallon drum as a sideline to their main business of selling plastic containers that range from medicine vials to large water tanks.
The drums come from a soft drink company that used them to hold concentrated drink syrup. They cannot be reused for food production, so a deal was struck with the Coopers to buy the barrels. The drink company then donates the money to charity.
They originally planned to grind the barrels into recycled plastic, but found by word of mouth that the rain barrel market has potential.
The barrels are a sturdy plastic with a tight fitting lid and sell for $25. A tap can be fitted by customer request for another $7. Staff can also install overflows so the water doesn’t run out.
Demand was so great last year that the Coopers had a three-page waiting list. They usually sell between 70 and 80 drums a month. Last year they sold 637 barrels.
BP Energy was a big customer, buying a barrel for each employee last year. The company eventually took 80 barrels and plans to return this summer for more.
A dry summer and water meters make people more conservation conscious, Cooper said.
“More people are interested in trying to help the environment.”
If oil and gas prices go up considerably this year, finding recycled barrels could be a greater challenge because then it is more profitable to regrind them and produce new items.
United Farmers of Alberta farm supply stores have sold heavy-duty plastic rain barrels for 10 years. They also sell 1,250 gallon tanks, said Airdrie store manager Bob Schreiner.
Demand has been so great in recent years that the business is calling for a greater variety of barrels and tanks.
“More and more people are looking for ways of collecting rainwater,” he said.
The amount of water captured depends on the area of the roof.
UFA can install screens to catch leaves and other debris from rooftops. People can hook the barrels together to collect water, and can also install small pumps to draw the water from the bottom.
Dry communities that enforced water bans last year are also interested in barrels, he said.
UFA has also seen a growing interest in cisterns because farm and acreage wells are going dry or do not produce as much water as before. They come in 6,000 gallon fibreglass tanks that are buried underground.
Schreiner said an acreage community near Airdrie, Alta., wrote water conservation into its development agreement. Homeowners must be able to collect non-potable rainwater to take some of the stress off the community’s wells.
Most of the UFA barrels are made of recycled material. Over time, the plastic has become stronger and is more resistant to ultra-violet rays. While the barrels can handle the expansion and contraction of freezing, Schreiner said sunlight can eventually destroy them.
Plastic is also better than old steel barrels because there is no danger of contaminants or rust from the metal.
