Winter's coming, time to get discounted rain barrels

It's still hot outside, but fall has officially arrived and that means the winter rainy season is just around the corner.

It also means October is the perfect time to get a discounted rain barrel for as little as $25 to catch every drop, cut gardening water costs and protect beaches simultaneously.

Thanks to San Diego County's Watershed Protection Program and the nonprofit Solana Center, residents can order a top-of-the-line, discounted $90 Ivy rain barrel online.

And the total cost could be as low as $25 if they qualify for an additional Metropolitan Water District rebate and a separate county discount.

Here's how to do it. Just order an Ivy rain barrel at https://www.solanacenter.org/rain-barrels and choose to pick it up at the COVID-19-protected event in Valley Center.

The rain barrels will not be shipped. Order by Oct. 31 to pick up the rain barrel from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 7, at Bates Nut Farm, 15954 Woods Valley Road, in Valley Center.

To protect everyone, customers must wear masks and remain in their cars. Workers at the events will also wear masks and load rain barrels into people's trunks or back seats. There will also be a staging area separated from the pickup spot for customers who need to adjust tie-downs or take other measures to secure rain barrels. A fuller explanation of the pickup process is located on the Solana Center's webpage.

Anyone who can't attend the pickup event can also pick up their barrel from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Solana Center's Encinitas offices at 137 N. El Camino Real.

County residents can apply for a $35 rebate that can shrink their rain barrel's cost from $90 to $55 if they get their water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – either through the San Diego County Water Authority or its participating member agencies in San Diego County.

In addition, the county is giving out its own $30 discount to residents who live in unincorporated areas – on the first 200 rain barrels ordered. Get that discount and the final cost shrinks to $25.

Having a rain barrel can let residents "harvest" rain right off your roof and use it to keep their gardens or lawns green the old-fashioned way. It can cut their water costs and help protect local beaches by preventing excess rain from washing pollution off roofs and yards and down streets to the ocean.

The Ivy Rain Barrels have a locking, child-proof lid, are made of 100% recycled material, have overflow ports, protective screening to keep mosquitoes out, a 3/4-inch ball valve to connect to a garden hose or to another barrel, and they don't need pumps because they use gravity to dispense their collected rainwater.

Order and buy a rain barrel.

Go to the county/Solana Center's rain barrels website. Scroll halfway down the page and click on one of the two options to start a purchase:

Choose "Check address & Start Purchase" to buy a $60 barrel if the resident lives in the unincorporated county. From there they'll be asked to choose one of the pickup locations. Residents can order and pay for their rain barrel with a credit card.

Residents may buy as many rain barrels as they'd like, but the Metropolitan rebate and county discount are limited to two per household.

Finally, remember that the rain barrel will not be delivered. When it's time to pick it up at any of the pickup locations, remember to print out and bring the receipt.

Apply for your rebate.

The $35 rebates from the Metropolitan Water District are available within 90 days of ordering/buying a rain barrel, so as soon as the rain barrel is ordered, visit https://socalwatersmart.com/en/residential/rebates/available-rebates/rain-barrels-cisterns/. Rebates are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For help, check out the Metropolitan Water District rebates' frequently asked questions under rebates.

Pick up your rain barrel.

While buying the rain barrel, Rainwater Solutions will email customers a confirmation of the purchase. Residents should remember to bring the confirmation email along when they go to your chosen location to pick up their barrel. And remember to leave room in the car for it. Solana Center officials said that barrels fit easily in any four-door sedan or SUV and into some two-door cars.

For more information, visit https://www.solanacenter.org/rain-barrels.