What is a rain barrel?

A rain barrel is a simple rainwater collector that is connected to the downspouts on your house.

The average 2,000-square-foot roof generates about 30,000 gallons of runoff per year. You can capture that rainwater and re-use it.

Instead of gutters sending water to the ground near your house or into the storm drainage system, the downspouts are connected to a large barrel that stores some of the runoff water from your roof for later use, such as watering your lawn, garden and potted plants.