In the garden section of this large brand near Tours, there is not much choice for water collectors. And for good reason: the store has seen, during the heat waves of summer, its customers rush to these large bins to collect rainwater. “It was late purchases, it started at the end of July, with higher demand“remarks the head of the department.
It was watering restrictions that got customers moving
“At the end of July, we had a very strong demand. In fact, it was watering restrictions that got customers moving. They realized that the water collectors had to be put in place now, because the restrictions can continue and it is now that we start filling the tanks even for next year.“explains our saleswoman, who wishes to remain anonymous. But the suppliers did not anticipate the significant demand and the specialized departments quickly ran out of stock.
From a hundred to a thousand liters of water
The most requested models are not the largest, whose capacity can reach hundreds of liters, even a thousand. In his garden, Jérôme has a hundred-litre water collector, installed a few years ago by this father who says to himself “sensitive to environmental issues (…) and finally I see that doing actions in favor of the environment, it saves me money, both suit me well.” This year, his water collector served him well, until almost dry. To fill it, it would take more rain than the current showers and thunderstorms give, admits Jérôme.
If Jérôme bought his water collector in the store, Bruno made his own using the old septic tank as a tank! “We collect all the gutter water and then we pump to water“explains the handyman.
Schedule watering to avoid wasting water
The water collector is a method to save the precious resource but it is not the only one. Patrick preferred invest in a watering timer connected to tap water. He can choose when, how long and with what quantity of water to water each of his plantations. “Right now it’s one hour every night, from 8 to 9 p.m., drop by drop, each plant gets just the right amount” he explains. The advantage of this system is that it can be programmed over time: watering is done even when the gardener is not at home.