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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Gutter options for water catchment from a barn

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  • From: Paul Cross <charybda@newmex.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Gutter options for water catchment from a barn
  • Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:27:21 -0700

You don't say anything about the climate you're in or what you're sending the water into, so it's a little more of a challenge to respond.

If you have snow or hail, catching on the ground works better than gutters. A lined trench can send water to a pond, or underground cistern, or even a sump basin with a pump (option of last resort.) Snow and hail can slide right past the gutter or clog it.

If you have the downspouts spaced at intervals it makes it hard to concentrate your water into a single tank or pond. We ended up using double downspouts right next to each other to increase the flow rate out of the gutters. The gutter installer had never done that before and thought I was crazy, which to me is an indication I am probably doing it right. He wanted downspouts every 20 feet if I recall. If two downspouts next to each other is not enough, you can always add another.

We use seamless gutters. In my area the are only available in 5" width. I have some 1500 sq ft areas draining into a 96' long gutter, and it might overflow once a year during a huge thunderstorm. We don't get 1" events, but maybe 1/2" events. Last time I checked, seamless gutters were running US$6-7 a foot installed. I don't regret the expense, but it is considerable! Catching everything except a fraction of one storm was good enough for my application.

-Paul Cross






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