Why pay to water your plants during dry days when, in most locations, more than enough rain falls right on your roof? Photo by madmack66.

Rain barrels are a time-tested way of collecting water for reuse. Runoff water from your roof, which normally flows onto your lawn or down your driveway and out into the street, is collected in barrels and used for watering your lawn and garden in the ensuing rain-free days. Still, why would you want use rain water instead of just cranking open the spigot?

Frugality blog FiveCentNickel highlight several reasons, including:

Using rain water will reduce your water bill. If you have “city water,” you pay your municipality for supplying the water based on your usage level. If you have “well water,” you pay for the electricity to run your water pump.

By the same token, since most utility companies bill your sewer use based on your water use, you’ll stop paying sewer fees for water that ends up in your yard instead of your sewer. For more reasons to use a rain barrel and tips on building your own rain barrels, check out the full article at the link below. If you have a rain barrel or cistern—the hulking big brother of the rain barrel—at your house, tell us all about it in the comments.

Save Money (and Water!) With Rain Barrels [FiveCentNickel]