Is It Safe To Water A Garden With Roof Runoff

Asphalt shingles and aluminum hmmm i definitely wouldn t consider drinking that water.

Is it safe to water a garden with roof runoff.

Gardeners often collect water in a rain barrel with little to no protection from the roof s first flush of runoff. If your property slopes toward any buildings you will want to divert that water. Curiously in other countries the inhabitants are not so squeamish and roof runoff water is their main source of drinking water soil microbes and root hairs carefully filter materials entering the roots. In one study most of the metals tested the same in rain barrel water as in rain water before it hit the roofs so little to no concern there.

Build one watch what happens after a storm and then enlarge it as needed. So watering the soil instead of pouring it directly on the veggies provides an opportunity for the soil to work some of its purifying magic before the water is taken up by the plants. At high enough levels this can cause injury to plants and those plants should not be consumed 1. Designing a rain garden to handle all of the runoff from a roof or driveway entails careful calculations.

Limited studies have been conducted focusing on the safety of roof runoff for vegetable garden irrigation. So roof runoff is not considered safe for human consumption in most countries at least not without filtration. To store as much rainfall as possible in your garden soil you can set up a rainwater irrigation system that diverts your roof runoff water directly onto your garden beds or lawn if you prefer. Steep slopes can be good for runoff keep in mind the slope of the land while designing your stormwater friendly landscape.

One exception was zinc and elevated levels could lead to build up of this element in soils. The water flowing from a roof does pick up a small quantity of contaminants including chemicals from shingles and gutters possibly bird and animal waste tannins and other compounds from leaves in the gutter etc. Use it to wash cars and outdoor equipment and to rinse patios. Unless the zinc content is particularly high it is safe to use on lawns and ornamental gardens.

Locate a rain garden at least 10 feet from your house and at least four times that far from a septic system or steep slope. So roof runoff is not considered safe for human consumption in most countries at least not without filtration. Using rain barrels to collect roof water runoff. But you can also learn by experimenting.

Also micro organisms can proliferate in the reservoir itself. Steep slopes can however be a good thing for stormwater absorption.