A guy at the Austin garden center told me one rain barrel saves about 1,300 gallons a year, and I didn't believe him

Miles Brown · 2026-09-29T13:45:05.86738+00:00

He explained that a 55 gallon barrel hooked to one downspout fills up in a single decent storm, and over a year the average roof here sheds way more than a barrel can hold. I ran the numbers with our 1,200 sq ft roof and it comes out to around 28,000 gallons off that roof alone. I only have two barrels set up so far, mostly for the tomato beds out back. Curious how many barrels you all run before it stops feeling worth the effort of moving the water around by hand?

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A guy at the Austin garden center told me one rain barrel saves about 1,300 gallons a year, and I didn't believe him | Backyard Projects - Topic Shares