Rain Barrel Filled with Ground Water?

[Edge]

I know its winter. But being retired and with idle thoughts I am looking at my neighbor's rain barrel that during the summer collects rain runoff from his roof to water his plants. Our houses in the development have basements with sump pumps. My own sump pump goes off more regularly than it rains around here in the summer. Since the sump collects clean ground water, is it okay to divert that water to a rain barrel? Seems a better idea than dumping and wasting that water into the storm sewers.

[RonB]

My first thought was "damned good idea" because we, too plan save rain water for watering starting this spring.

My second thought was about the amount of insecticide we had sprayed under and around the basement foundation before the poured the floors and back-filled (termite treatment) a couple of years ago. Not sure I would want to touch that water until it has had a few more years to dilute the chemicals.

Ronb

[Hell Toupee]

Where I live it is illegal to drain a sump pump into the sewer system; it *must* be discharged somewhere on the property. So yes, people do pump it out onto their lawns or gardens. For that matter, people with lakeshore property frequently water with water pumped from the lake, and that's for sure going to have more collected runoff in it than whatever you collect just from your property.

[hrhofmann]

As long as you have regular sewers for your house, and not a septic tank, that water should be ok. Where we have septic tanks and wells in the rural areas around here, the well is usually in the front yard and the septic system is in the back yard. I guess the assumption is that the septic system water goes straight down from the drain field and does not migrate sideways under the house foundation and get into the well.

[Edge]

Some of the replies raised the possiblities of contamination in reusing the ground water from the sump well. If there are any oils or fluids from leaks in cars parked in the driveway, they will be washed away from the foundation of the house. I suspect that most of the water in the sump during our dry summers was from water that percolated down to the drain tiles from watering plants near the house. So reusing that water to water those plants again, or the lawn, seems okay.

However it does raise a point. How contaiminate free is rain water that has washed off roofs. I have cedar shingles. Don't they treat them with fire retardants? I suppose rain water might be fine for plants or lawns, but if you have a vegetable garden use virgin water and not rain water or ground water.

[hallerb]

well theres natural bacteria that eats motor oil, and worn tires too.

which is why the road berms dont have piles of tire dust along them.

so a litte oil or transmission fluid might not really matter, although probably not a good idea to water vegies with contaminated water

[HeyBub]

With the first rain, 95% of whatever that is ever coming off, er, comes off. After that first rain, any amount of fire retardant or chemical preservative that washes off will be so small as to be undetectable.

During the interval between rains, however, an amazing amount of airborne junk will settle on the roof - mostly in the form of dust (and a few bird droppings). Again, after the first few gallons of the next rain, subsequent water should be almost as pure as if it had been distilled.

[jamesgangnc]

Used to you could always spot a brit car because of the oil patch it left behind. Don't even get started on their automotive elecrical systems.

[willshak]

Edge wrote the following:

Where are you? If you are in the northeast US, you better find a very sturdy barrel. Up here the temp has been in the single digits, teens, and 20s for most of the last few weeks and everything outside that had water in it (ponds, pools, birdbaths, etc.) is now solid ice.

[Harry K]

That is a bit overly paranoid.

Harry K

[Harry K]

Or HD motorcycles?

Harry K

[Harry K]

No, the reasoning is that by the time any thing has seeped through the ground for 100 ft (that used to be the minimum separation) it has been "purified".

Harry K

[Harry K]

And why not? You _do_ wash them off before use?

Harry K

[Harry K]

I am always amazed every fall when I clean the gutters. There will always be at least a 1/4" of "mud" in the bottom of them. That all comes out of the sky. In the olden times there was a diverter that was used to bypass the rain barrel during the start of a rain storm to get rid of the "dirty" water.

Harry K

[HeyBub]

Yep. You don't see a ribbon of rubber dust alongside the road.

Applying the theory that "everything has to be somewhere," if the rubber dust is not on the side of the road, it's got to be somewhere else.

[DerbyDad03]

Have you considered the possibility that the "mud" that you say comes out of the sky is actually rotten leaves and other types of vegetation that has composted in the gutter?

[Heathcliff]

I side with the folks who say yes go ahead that water should be fine, at least for lawn and flowers. One thing I have noticed with my sump, though, is that the water in the sump well is not always completely clear; sometimes it has a little suspended dirt (i.e. it's a little murky). Nothing wrong with that either but it might tend to settle out and form a layer of sludge in the bottom of your barrel. Just something to check for - if that happens you might need to stir it up or flush the barrel out once in a while. -- H

[DerbyDad03]

I wash the outsides but I tend to have trouble getting the water out of the *inside* of the vegetables.

There are interweb references that state the plants can absorb up to

7% of the lead in contaminated soil.

While the following site is speaking specifically about E .coli, I can see reasons to follow the same precautions for any type of contaminated water.

"It is important to prevent direct contact of potentially contaminated water with the fruits or vegetables you plan to harvest. The type of plant affects how you water. If the edible portion of the crop is located above the soil, it is better to water with a drip system or a furrow or flood system than with sprinklers. This will limit direct contact between the water and the crop. If you have a limited drinking water supply, save the best water for the period just prior to harvest. Avoid using potentially contaminated water within 30 days of harvest."

[Tony Miklos]

There are often, if not mostly, 2 very different types of sewers to consider. Most any city, town,... prohibits groundwater from a sump pump to be discharged into a sanitary sewer (that's the one that is anything BUT sanitary). All the extra water stresses the septic plants that treat the water and in heavy rains can cause it to release untreated septic (toilet) water straight into creeks, lakes, rivers...

Then there are the "storm sewers". They just take rainwater downhill to get it out of the way. Quite often they drain into creeks and lakes, no problem. Many areas allow sump discharge in the storm sewer.

[clare]

Don't know about where you are, but MOST of the black crap in my eaves troughs is composted vegetation - leaves and such that come off the nearby trees. The rest of what is in the trough is the loose grit from the shingles - but that's not black.