Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

City College prof collects rainwater on Mt. Helix

Anyone with roof can do it

Chris Baron with his two 300-gallon containers
Chris Baron with his two 300-gallon containers

Chris Baron purchased a home on Mt. Helix in 2007. The house sat on a half-acre of land, so he would have a rather large canvas to work with when it came to landscaping. He had some native plants early on and eventually bought some fruit trees. He wanted to plant more trees, but watering was expensive. To make matters worse, the state was in the midst of the 2012-2017 drought. In order to increase his orchard, he would have to think creatively. With the help of a friend who had some experience, he stepped into the soggy realm of rainwater collection.

Chris Baron at his friend's house. 1320-gallon containers.

“My friend and I decided we wanted to learn all that we could because we realized that if it rains one inch, you can have enough water to fill thousands of gallons off your own roof. We decided we wanted to plant a lot of fruit trees, and rainwater’s best. So, we thought, how can we maximize that process? We started planting. I think I have 35 fruit trees on my property, and my friend’s probably got like 70 or 80. Everything from avocado to stone fruit to apple trees. We got rid of all the green lawns and started putting in all these fruit trees. We thought, ‘We gotta think of a better way to water these things because there’s just no water falling from the sky.’ ”

The method they ended up using is a harvesting the rainwater that lands on the rooftop during storms. You position barrels or containers (even a trash can works) to capture the water exiting your rain gutters before it escapes into the drainage system. And the amount of the water that does escape is surprisingly massive. For example, a 1500-square-foot rooftop can yield over 1400 gallons of collected rainwater from a storm that drops 1.5 inches of rain. The trick often becomes having enough containers to capture everything. Baron’s system has water flowing from his gutters into two 300-gallon containers, along with two dedicated 65-gallon rainwater barrels, and even some random 40-gallon trashcans.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Even a 40-gallon trashcan helps.

“When it rains, we put anything out that we can to collect water. Garbage pails…anything. Any excess we just collect, and any run-off we try to direct into the mulch—so it goes into the plants before it makes it to the street,” he said.

Baron stressed that the mulching was nearly as important of a factor in getting the most out of the rainwater as the rooftop collection is. “You need a lot of mulch to grow trees because that prolongs the life of the water. The more mulch you use, the better,” he said. Since he lives on the side of hill, Baron has built some terraces for his new trees. The key is to allow the flat surface of the mulched land to capture more of the rainwater.

Baron bought five 65-gallon barrels and two 300-gallon containers from San Diego Drums and Totes, a Lemon Grove store that specializes in rainwater collection gear. His overall investment was less than $1000 since he took advantage of both city and state rebates associated with rainwater harvesting. His friend opted for three 1320-gallon containers that store the bulk of his water. As this extremely wet rainy season nears its end, Baron estimates that his friend has gone through all his captured water two or three times and has been able to utilize about 12,000 gallons of captured rainwater. As for his own rig, Baron said that he has likely harvested about 3000 gallons and is now sitting on 900 gallons that he will begin using once the rains completely end, and the inevitable long dry-spell of summer begins.

Looking towards the future, Baron is hoping to up his game by the time the start of next winter. Time constraints are his arch-nemesis. He is an English professor at San Diego City College who is raising three kids and writing books).

“I want to get two more of those [300 gallon] tanks, or one bigger one,” he said. “I’m just looking at better ways to be efficient. That’s my goal. Just some more water usage. More water tanks. More mulch. I’m gonna add a terrace. I think it all works together.”

Baron told me that his initial investment into the world of rainwater harvesting was paid off within two years. In a region where water seems so often in short supply, it’s surprising that more people aren’t hopping on this bandwagon. Baron feels the numbers are increasing as the masses learn how simple the process is.

“I took my friend to the store and she was like, ‘Oh, you just get a barrel and you put it under the rain gutter.’ It’s so basic. Just think about when you were a little kid and you would just fill stuff up. I think people get too intimidated to act, but once they realize it’s very straight-forward, they’re like ‘Ohhhh.’”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Operatic Gender Wars

Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Next Article

Reader writer fends off attacks on Encinitas cliff story

Says each letter writer takes on only part of the article
Chris Baron with his two 300-gallon containers
Chris Baron with his two 300-gallon containers

Chris Baron purchased a home on Mt. Helix in 2007. The house sat on a half-acre of land, so he would have a rather large canvas to work with when it came to landscaping. He had some native plants early on and eventually bought some fruit trees. He wanted to plant more trees, but watering was expensive. To make matters worse, the state was in the midst of the 2012-2017 drought. In order to increase his orchard, he would have to think creatively. With the help of a friend who had some experience, he stepped into the soggy realm of rainwater collection.

Chris Baron at his friend's house. 1320-gallon containers.

“My friend and I decided we wanted to learn all that we could because we realized that if it rains one inch, you can have enough water to fill thousands of gallons off your own roof. We decided we wanted to plant a lot of fruit trees, and rainwater’s best. So, we thought, how can we maximize that process? We started planting. I think I have 35 fruit trees on my property, and my friend’s probably got like 70 or 80. Everything from avocado to stone fruit to apple trees. We got rid of all the green lawns and started putting in all these fruit trees. We thought, ‘We gotta think of a better way to water these things because there’s just no water falling from the sky.’ ”

The method they ended up using is a harvesting the rainwater that lands on the rooftop during storms. You position barrels or containers (even a trash can works) to capture the water exiting your rain gutters before it escapes into the drainage system. And the amount of the water that does escape is surprisingly massive. For example, a 1500-square-foot rooftop can yield over 1400 gallons of collected rainwater from a storm that drops 1.5 inches of rain. The trick often becomes having enough containers to capture everything. Baron’s system has water flowing from his gutters into two 300-gallon containers, along with two dedicated 65-gallon rainwater barrels, and even some random 40-gallon trashcans.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Even a 40-gallon trashcan helps.

“When it rains, we put anything out that we can to collect water. Garbage pails…anything. Any excess we just collect, and any run-off we try to direct into the mulch—so it goes into the plants before it makes it to the street,” he said.

Baron stressed that the mulching was nearly as important of a factor in getting the most out of the rainwater as the rooftop collection is. “You need a lot of mulch to grow trees because that prolongs the life of the water. The more mulch you use, the better,” he said. Since he lives on the side of hill, Baron has built some terraces for his new trees. The key is to allow the flat surface of the mulched land to capture more of the rainwater.

Baron bought five 65-gallon barrels and two 300-gallon containers from San Diego Drums and Totes, a Lemon Grove store that specializes in rainwater collection gear. His overall investment was less than $1000 since he took advantage of both city and state rebates associated with rainwater harvesting. His friend opted for three 1320-gallon containers that store the bulk of his water. As this extremely wet rainy season nears its end, Baron estimates that his friend has gone through all his captured water two or three times and has been able to utilize about 12,000 gallons of captured rainwater. As for his own rig, Baron said that he has likely harvested about 3000 gallons and is now sitting on 900 gallons that he will begin using once the rains completely end, and the inevitable long dry-spell of summer begins.

Looking towards the future, Baron is hoping to up his game by the time the start of next winter. Time constraints are his arch-nemesis. He is an English professor at San Diego City College who is raising three kids and writing books).

“I want to get two more of those [300 gallon] tanks, or one bigger one,” he said. “I’m just looking at better ways to be efficient. That’s my goal. Just some more water usage. More water tanks. More mulch. I’m gonna add a terrace. I think it all works together.”

Baron told me that his initial investment into the world of rainwater harvesting was paid off within two years. In a region where water seems so often in short supply, it’s surprising that more people aren’t hopping on this bandwagon. Baron feels the numbers are increasing as the masses learn how simple the process is.

“I took my friend to the store and she was like, ‘Oh, you just get a barrel and you put it under the rain gutter.’ It’s so basic. Just think about when you were a little kid and you would just fill stuff up. I think people get too intimidated to act, but once they realize it’s very straight-forward, they’re like ‘Ohhhh.’”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

94th Aero Squadron – French farmhouse still works

Try the antinoise –tomatoes with olive oil dressing plus capers, garlic, toasted coriander seeds, basil, spring onions, salted anchovies
Next Article

Live Five: Andrew Peña, Frankie J, Beat Farmers, Jesse LaMonaca, Puddles Pity Party

Latin, roots rock, and pity parties in Mission Beach, Little Italy, El Cajon
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader