Orlando-area woman brings back rain barrel during water shortage
Eileen Marie Simoneau | Special To The Sentinel
April 27, 2008
Bonnie Kutschera was raised in South Florida, where she watched rapid development strain natural resources. Kutschera recalls such memories when she talks about her passion for the environment. She and her husband, Joseph, are recycling discarded plastic containers by converting them into barrels -- products designed to conserve water. The barrels collect runoff, allowing homeowners to use rain instead of drinking water for irrigation.
Freelance photographer-writer Eileen Marie Simoneau recently met with Bonnie Kutschera, who transforms the barrels on her 10 acres in Lake Helen.
Q.
How did you get involved with rain barrels?
A.
I owned a feed store in Pierson and sold barrels there for livestock feed. I met local environmentalist Mac McShea when he came into the feed store to buy the barrels. Mac explained that he was turning them into rain barrels as a nonprofit organization to save water. After selling the feed business in 2002, Mac approached me about joining him in his endeavor. My husband and I discovered that rain barrels are a solution, something we wanted to be a part of. We joined Mac. Now we assemble rain barrels for profit. [They cost from $70 to $100.] We have up to 600 barrels at a time in our pastures waiting to be transformed.
Q.
Where do you get them?
A.
We borrow a box truck and travel twice a year to Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee pickle factories to pick up used barrels. They are shipped from the Mediterranean and other parts of Europe carrying food products. We never know what we will find in them, but we definitely know which ones held Greek peppers -- they smell like an Italian restaurant. We scrub them inside and out, polish them, attach solid brass spigots, an overflow valve and a screen to keep insects out.
Q. Do you use them?
A. We personally use our rain-barrel water for our garden, trees and shrubs, as well as washing Chopper, our mixed-breed dog. Remember, there is no chlorine or other chemicals in rainwater, so plants love it. We wash off our garden tools and vegetables right after we pull them out of the ground. We are on well water, and during hurricanes or other long power failures we use it to flush toilets.
One rain barrel collects 65 gallons of water for use on gardens and plants, and the water is still absorbed into the aquifer naturally. There is no waste.
Q. Who else uses them?
A. Rain barrels are not new. Our great-grandparents used water barrels. They didn't have plumbing, so they caught the rainwater to wash and bathe. We want our grandchildren to remember that we did our part to save water for them. Many states and parts of Canada are beginning to require rain barrels for new homes. There are businesses adding rain collectors to their buildings. Folks are beginning to realize "going green" is more than using less fertilizer, using native plants or saving fuel. Recycling water off a 1,000-square-foot house can give you 632 gallons of water from only one inch of rain. I think all this stuff about going green has helped get everyone aware. If everyone at least does a little bit, it adds up.
Q. What is the future of water conservation?
A. Government is too slow to act on a lot of basic environmental solutions. Our hope is that one day rain-containment systems will be mandatory. Volusia County Utilities is leading the race to conserve water by offering rebates for low-flow toilets, washing machines and rain barrels.
Q. Are rain barrels profitable?
A. We're just a little bit over breaking even. We've kept the cost low because we want the product out there in people's homes. I have satisfaction every time I hear it rain and I know hundreds and hundreds of gallons of water are being saved at homes throughout Volusia County.
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