Research project help needed - rain barrels wanted!

[Hanna Winter]

Hi Everyone! I'm a graduate student at Huxley (WWU) and I'm working on
a project for one of my classes that I need some help on. We will be
measuring the metal content (copper, zinc, maybe other metals) in rain
barrel water to see the amount of metals washing off of different types
of roofs. We will also be testing various garden soil types to see how
much of the metal sorbs (binds to) the soil and how much is left in the
soil solution to get an idea of how much of the metal is bioavailable
to plants, bacteria and fungi.

Here's where I need help: we need rain barrels to take water samples
from and some soil samples from gardens as well. We would like to get
information on your roofing type and if you have ever applied an
anti-moss product to your roof. We will have a short quesionnaire for
you to fill out about your roofing type and rain barrel to help us
decide which barrels to sample.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Randy Smith]

Lots of rain barrels on Lummi Island if you want to go that far.

[Steve Wilson]

Hanna, thanks for initiating this research project. We are about to replace the roof on the Caretaker's House at Fairhaven Park and have been seeking info just like this. Wondering if it might be appropriate to also test various filtering systems to remove pollutants? I'll be interested in following your efforts.

[Hanna Winter]

Sounds interesting! What kind of filtering systems did you have in mind?

Steve Wilson said:

Hanna, thanks for initiating this research project. We are about to replace the roof on the Caretaker's House at Fairhaven Park and have been seeking info just like this. Wondering if it might be appropriate to also test various filtering systems to remove pollutants? I'll be interested in following your efforts.

[Hanna Winter]

Hi again everyone - I have a questionnaire pulled together to help us start our research project. Please email me at [e-mail] and I will email the questionnaire to you. Thanks in advance for everyone's help on this!

[Steve Wilson]

Hanna,
At first I was thinking that filtering rainwater would be the PC method for irrigating gardens. I have since learned from others that rainwater is a fine nonpotable water source. Does this concur with your understanding? I'll get that questionaire from you via email.
steve


Hanna Winter said:

Sounds interesting! What kind of filtering systems did you have in mind?

Steve Wilson said:

Hanna, thanks for initiating this research project. We are about to replace the roof on the Caretaker's House at Fairhaven Park and have been seeking info just like this. Wondering if it might be appropriate to also test various filtering systems to remove pollutants? I'll be interested in following your efforts.

[Hanna Winter]

Hi Steve,
Yes, I understand rainwater is a fine nonpotable water source as well. I have heard of some concerns about using it depending on what kind of roof the building has, since organics and metals can leach off the roof into the rain barrel. I'm going to try to look into this sometime soon. I suspect it's just a precaution to make sure people don't water their lettuce and then eat the lettuce without washing it... but especially for non-food watering, I hear it's safe to use.

I'll send you the questionnaire once I get your email!

Thanks!