Dee Harley, owner of Harley Farms Goat Dairy in Pescadero, relies on water for her goats and the edible flowers she grows to adorn her delicious cheeses.
Dee proactively turned to rainwater harvesting as a conservation practice to save water and protect her animals and plants during future droughts. She collects rainwater from two downspouts that are connected to the roof of the barn her goats sleep in. The water is then transported into two, 6,000-gallon cisterns that are located in the center of Harley Farms Goat Dairy. Together, they collect 40,000 gallons of water for use every year. When Flows To Bay asked Dee about the farm and her experience of the last drought, she enthusiastically supported harvesting rainwater, saying, “catching rainwater is easy! Any form of water conservation is helpful and anyone can do it. Even catching a small amount from a shed roof is worth it as a contribution.”
The rainy season is the one wonderful time of year where your garden can thrive with little to no water input (given it’s a normal water year). As long as rain keeps the soil moist, seedlings will grow without a hose! And when it is dry for a week or two, there’s the option of having a trusty rain barrel nearby dutifully capturing all the water that falls on your roof!
If you haven’t already heard us sing the praises of rain barrels, rain barrels are low-cost, come in a variety of shapes and sizes (from subsidized 50-gallon barrels to 10,000-gallon cisterns), and allow you to supplement your water supply with a sustainable source to help reduce the burden on local watersheds! When added together, small decentralized stormwater management practices can make a big cumulative difference to the resiliency of a watershed.
Flows To Bay has partnered with the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) to provide a rebate that will cover up to $100 of the cost of a new rain barrel, depending on where you reside. If that’s not enough, we’ve also partnered with Hassett ACE Hardware to offer an additional 20% off the purchase of select rain barrels and accessories — just show this flier at checkout! And of course, once you purchase and install your barrel, make sure to tag it on our map so we can keep track of the rain barrel movement!
Want to learn more about rainwater harvesting? Check out this fact sheet from our partners at Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA).
