Last November I did the math on water rates the costs of rain barrels, the math did not make much sense because waters were not high enough and I could not find a source of cheap barrels. Both of these things have changed.
The water rates have gone up again as raised in this discussion on Vibrant Victoria. The total charged per 100 cubic feet has risen to $4.78 from $3.9162, a total of $0.8638. It was only a short while ago that it cost $2.64 per 100 cubic feet.
When I did the math last year, the water one would collect in a 100 litre rain barrel would have a value of $0.55, now this has risen to $0.68.
Today I was pointed in the direction of a source of barrels for $30 for a 211 litre barrel. A 211 litre barrel holds $1.43 of water under the new rates. If I can capture 1200 litres during the summer months for gardening and lawn and if I use 4 litres a day for 250 days a year for the chickens, this means I save about 2200 litres in a year. This is about $15 a year, so I pay back a barrel in two years.
My plan is to buy three of them and because I do not need anymore water in the winter, the total I will capture and use will be 4600 litres or $31.18 per year. This means to pay for all three it will take me three years. I will be picking up the barrels on Monday.
Suddenly it makes good sense to have rain barrels
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