Make sure any recycled plastic barrels are food-grade quality. Cisterns can also be made from old oak whiskey barrels or new garbage cans. Check your local authority for premade, recycled (often subsidized) barrels on hand or for workshops in building your own.

• Cover and screen from insects and any roof debris.

• Install securely to make them child-proof. Often propped up above the ground to prevent water from pooling below, barrels can be a hazard if they tip over. Keep them closed, to prevent young children from deciding to take a swim in them, with potentially disastrous consequences. Strap to the building wall and set on a level surface. Raise up on concrete blocks to get better water pressure.

• Don't drink rain-barrel water. People living in places with persistent drought sometimes depend on rainwater but must install filters (such as reverse-osmosis). Rain-barrel companies often sell them with labels clearly indicating they're for "non-potable water" uses only.

• Can vegetables, fruits and food gardens fed with rain-barrel water safely be eaten? The jury is out. If people insist on using rain-barrel water on fruits and vegetables, they should at least rinse them with filtered water.

• Check your roofing materials; metal and stainless steel are best. Don't use zinc strips on your roof.

• If you don't like the look of standard rain barrels, you can decorate them, paint them, or surround them in ivy and potted plants. Try spray-painting silhouettes of native leaves and branches.

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[link href='/science/green-tech/a6071/how-to-safely-capture-the-rain/' link_updater_label='internal']How to Safely Capture the Rain >>>

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