Oil was once called black gold long before demand soared and supplies, or at least easy access to them, diminished. Water is clearly more essential than gold. Our bodies aren’t 96 percent gold, and alas, we can’t trade them in for more water-efficient models. Yet we are offered this precious gift; it drops into our gardens from the sky, and rather than accept it gladly and use it well, we pour it into the gutter and pay good money for a less energizing substitute. This lament was precipitated by our record wet winter. The mountains got buried in snow so deep you could hear the crowing of powder-loving skiers far down slope. In the valleys, rains turned dirt roads to mud bogs, but that’s just part of the charm of country living, the earthy aura of adobe-stuccoed pickup trucks headed to the carwash.

Rain is a gift. Everything seems greener as pore-clogging dust is washed from leaves and readily absorbed nitrogen boosts plant energy. A soaking rain flushes excess, growth-stunting salts away from plant roots, encouraging new root development that then sustains plants when drought returns.

And like yet another Terminator sequel, drought will be back with withering vengeance. Nature is generous; she also offers many second chances. Summer rains usually account for much of our annual precipitation. Is your garden designed to catch what falls and keep as much of it as is practical before sending the overflow into storm drains—fugitive water on the lam, headed south of the border? Did the extra rain turn parts of your garden into mires, erode slopes, and otherwise cause problems? Will another invasion of weeds take advantage of the abundance you let slip away?

Capturing and using rainwater can be as simple as putting a rain barrel under a gutter. Just slightly more sophisticated, a system of swales and basins channeling runoff to plants can be both an elegant design element and a water conservation strategy. Where space on the surface is limited or water puddles before it penetrates, subsurface dry wells, French drains, or better still, Permaculture-inspired pumice wicks, can get the water into the soil quickly and store it so plant roots can tap into the reservoir slowly. Where the potential volume of water warrants it, cisterns might be the best option, storing the bounty to use as needed for months after rain has become a foggy memory.

 

When you consider ways to harvest runoff, you may want to test the waters, wade into the options gradually. Rain barrels are an easy first step with many types available locally. Some are strictly utilitarian; others are designed to be less obtrusive in stucco colors and streamlined shapes. Look for the largest capacity barrels that will fit the spaces you need to place them. Be sure the barrel is designed to filter out leaves and other debris and can be closed to prevent creating a mosquito habitat.

Intermittent rains can be stored for later use and drained by gravity through hoses to plants throughout the garden. Water is heavy—about 30 pounds per 5 gallons—so if the barrel must be elevated to facilitate drainage, be sure the supporting structure can bear the weight of the full barrel. Unfortunately, much of our rain comes in heavy downpours that can quickly swamp a rain barrel’s relatively small capacity. In most cases, additional means of catching and containing or disbursing the water are needed to manage the feast or famine nature of our weather.

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