Rain water barrels in short supply

One of the city's hottest -- and longest -- waiting lists is not for designer schools or apartments but for rain water barrels.

The water-saving contraption is so popular that the city has bought 1,000 additional barrels to hand out free to eco-minded residents, who collect rain water to use on their lawns.

"Every gallon of tap water saved counts for me because I water my garden every other day," said Fannie Joseph, of Cambria Heights, Queens, who was among the first to receive a free barrel in 2008 through a pilot program by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Joseph, 85, who grows tomatoes, green peppers, okra and more, keeps a 55-gallon rain barrel attached to her roof's rain gutter. A spigot in the barrel connects to a hose that she turns on her lawn and garden.

But demand seems to be outpacing supply. At the first of four city giveaways April 16, people lined up long before the start of the event in Marine Park, Brooklyn.

"We had an overwhelming response and we had at least 400 people at 9 a.m.," said Mercedes Padilla, environmental protection spokeswoman, who added that the department ran out of barrels. "A lot of people put their names down on the waiting list. They know that rain barrels are good for the environment, that they're good for gardening, and that they're good for saving money."

Catching rain water in barrels also alleviates pressure on the sewer system and protects the watershed, Padilla said. She warns that rain is not potable and should be used only for gardening. The city pays $80 for each barrel.

Padilla said her department will assess the latest phase of giveaways to determine whether to buy more barrels. The program is geared toward one- and two-family homes because homeowners have access to roofs to make it easier for the harvesting of rainwater.

New York City residents -- the majority of whom are apartment dwellers -- may consider supporting community gardens that have rainwater-harvesting systems, said Lenny Librizzi, assistant director of Open Space Greening of GrowNYC, an nonprofit in the mayor's office.

"There are 75 community gardens with systems, and we've built, or trained people to build, most of them," he said. "There's everything from a single barrel off a small shed to one site where there's 1,000-gallon tanks collecting from adjacent buildings."

The Brooklyn Bears Carlton Avenue Community Garden in Fort Greene has a 900-gallon cistern that captures rainwater running off a former church next door. "It gives us a reserve that we need during summers when there's a lot of downpour but it's incredibly hot weather," said park coordinator Ned Lochaya.

Want a rain barrel?

BUILD YOUR OWN: Instructions and advice are available at the GrowNYC website, grownyc.org/openspace/rainwater.

BUY ONE: Barrels are available at many home-improvement stores, including Lowe's and The Home Depot.

SNAG A FREE ONE FROM THE CITY: Barrels are given out on a first-come, first-served basis to city residents of one- or attached two-family homes. For more info, visit nyc.gov/dep.

The remaining giveaways are: Queens, Cummingham Park, 196th Place and Union Turnpike, Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m.

The Bronx, Pelham Bay Park, Middle Road parking lot off Stadium Avenue, Saturday, May 7, 9 a.m.

Staten Island, College of Staten Island, 2800 Victory Blvd., Saturday, May 7, 9 a.m.