How to Fill the Water Barrels

The garden has a number of water barrels dotted around the garden which are used for watering. It’s vital that water is available in the barrels, particularly in case the rain water harvesting system runs dry.

To fill the barrels, we hook up a hose to the hydrant across the street.

To use the fire hydrant:

  1. Take the three ramps, which are located in the meeting/seating area, and position them across the street. The three sections should be attached to each other and the flap should be positioned so that it is pushed closed by any vehicle going over the ramps. Have a friend watch for traffic while doing this.
  2. Take the four cones and position two on the sidewalk and two at either side of the ramps.
  3. Take the hose and run it across the street, through the ramps. The end with the large brass plate should end up by the hydrant.
  4. Get the hydrant wrench hanging on the back of the message board post, under the lock nail.
  5. Place the wrench opening on the pentagon shaped bolt on top of the hydrant. It is marked which direction opens/closes the hyrdant.
  6. Make sure the water is off.
  7. Unscrew the side cap with the hydrant wrench.
  8. Attach the brass plate end of the hose to the side opening. Make sure it is screwed on tightly with the wrench.
  9. Turn the wrench, so that it loosens the top bolt, and starts the water flow. You will have to open it quite a bit, probably more than you think, to get enough pressure to make it up into the barrels.
  10. Hang the hydrant wrench back on the message board post while you fill up the barrels.
  11. Reverse steps to close.

Other considerations:

  • Make sure that the lids of the barrels are on tightly when you’ve finished filling them. This makes the garden less attractive to mosquitoes and helps prevent small animals from drowning (yes, it can happen).
  • The hose has an on/off switch at the end which can be helpful while you are moving from one barrel to another