Stormz,

Would you be able to use a bucket or barrel that the downspout could empty into? Slanted screen on top that debris can fall off and an outlet close to the bottom but not at the bottom so as to not pickup non-floating debris. A tiny hole at the end of the pipe to help drain the line eventually. Do you want to store water for use during non-rain periods or just when it rains with the ground already saturated by rain? Or is the amount of rain not enough to water plants when it rains? Aloha

Lehua13 The down spuout that is currently there is long and the area it covers would make a great place to put a stone enterence to the side yard. I don't want to trip on it. A rain barrel will not work. The idea is to capture the rain water from the roof to do the work. I was thinking that I could capture the rain water from the roof to disperse the moisture to the bed itself. However I do notice that any leaf or dirt will come off the the eves trough and could cause a slight back up. I don't want to damage the roof because of this. I was thinking of a trap of some sort that I could clean periodicaly. What do you think? Also a pop up was suggested and I can do this but I don't think that that will help the potential of a clogged line. I am willing to keep this clean as needed, to keep the irrigation of the bed regular. Just want to make sure that I'm not backing water back up to the house.

Thank you because there are areas that I could do the rain barrel you suggested.

Storm,

It would be very helpful to see a picture or explain elevation differences of the area and the downspout. This is to understand what you already know. Is the downspout already running underground to an outlet point beyond the side yard to the street curb? A trap would work. Something like a grease trap but there would be standing water in it. That would breed mosquitoes, but can be controlled with a little vector control oil. A small sump operation would also work but not for bigger downpours. But this can be handled with a larger flow bypass.

Lehua13, yes a trap would work. No it is not curently underground but that is what I want to do. Hence the trap suggestion. The area is flat. Sorry no pics at this time. I just don't want to back up water to the roof. A trap will need some maintenace and I'm ok with that. An outlet would be a popup at the far end. It is the entrance that I am concerned with. But I like the idea of a trap. What is the grease trap concept I'm not familuar with this. I don't need mosqitoes since we are the land of those. Thanks much!

stormz,

It is what restaurants use to move water through the sewer pipe and not send the grease and oil with it. In you case, your take off is above the bottom sludge(maintenance) and below the surface (floating debris). The grease trap operates by hydraulic head from backing up in the line. You don't want that so a submersible sump pump is the way to go. You control mosquitoes by a certain type of oil that doesn't allow mosquito larvae to breathe at the waters surface. The govt uses this type for vector control in wetland areas. Good luck Aloha

Thanks for all the good thoughts. This is the thought I had. If I put a trap/screen at the elbow above ground that I could remove and clean a couple of times per season. So as not to clog the drain above and below ground. I have looked at some and think this can be done. A bit of maintenance I'm good to go with. I so far have not found a kit that provides this but could fashion one. Thanks lebua13 for the explantion of the grease trap. That was helpful as I had no clue! LOL! But that does make perfect sense. As for the rain barrel type colection I don't want to introduce the mosquito larve as this is considered our other state bird! Also the area is not big enough to have this type of collection of rain water. I do love the idea however as it would be a great way to water pots and garden beds. It would really keep the water bills down. With that said I could do this in an other area. Got me thinking...

stormz,

I just saw and interesting rain collection set up. The down spouts went into very tall beautifully glazed ceramic urns. The tops of the urns had a small planter top that had colorful plants cascading down the urn and a hose fitting at the bottom side for irrigating some matching side plantings. Very classy appearance. The entrance had a matching set up on either side. Just an idea to keep the creative juices flowing. Haha State Bird. Aloha

lehua13 Where did you see this? It sounds interesting. I do love the cascading affect. If not for my particular project that does not mean I could not try this in other areas. Or for this one as I'm not quite yet working this one. I could do something that gives the same effect. I'm open to this idea. Thanks in advance!

Z,

Saw it outside a restaurant while I was driving back from my daughter's graduation from college in CA. I know it was professionally done. It should have been a great magazine article and probably was. I am sure they had backup water to the setup as well. It doesn't rain that much in that area of CA.