Portland Rain Barrels Mission Statement

Portland, Oregon is known as a rainy city, getting about 40 inches of rainfall per year. But fifty-five percent of the rain comes in four months: November, December, January, and February. Another 32% comes in March, April, May, and October. In the other four months, June, July, August, and September, Portland receives only five inches of rainfall. During these dry summer months, gardeners turn on their hoses. Every drop that comes out of a hose in the summer months could be coming from a rain barrel if that water were stored during the rainy season.


Portland is also known as a "green" city. There are 32 community gardens located throughout the city which are organized by Portland Parks and Recreation. There are also countless backyard gardens, community-supported farms and other forms of grassroots food-growing projects. For example, there are no less than fifteen full-fledged CSAs (farming operations called Community Supported Agriculture) in Portland proper (according to portlandcsa.org), not to mention the dozens located in the cities around Portland.

For these reasons, Portland is the perfect town for the project that I am undertaking. My project is simple. I collect used plastic barrels which would otherwise have to be recycled. I distribute the barrels to organizations or individuals in the community which are involved with local agriculture. Some of the barrels will be given away unmodified. These barrels can be used for a number of purposes such as storage, potato growing and compost-turning. The other barrels will be modified into rain storage units. This is a simple process of adding a faucet on the bottom, a screen on the top, and positioning the barrel on a raised platform under a downspout. This is a fun and collaborative process, perfect for a volunteer group, like at a church, school or community center. I plan to organize rain-barrel-building parties in which groups of volunteers come together to learn about conservation of water, the importance of local food sources, and of course, to construct rain barrels.

In addition to working with existing organizations, I will work personally to set up new community farms. For example, I am already getting the ball rolling on a community garden in my neighborhood, Woodlawn.

There are costs incurred in obtaining barrels and modifying them. I will recoup these costs by selling some completed barrels to home owners.


The end result of this ongoing effort will be incredibly meaningful for the community and for the environment. It will bring neighbors together, support the production of healthy food, and conserve water.