Watering your yard can account for 30 to 40 per cent of your annual water use and Calgary's water use increases by up to 40 per cent in the summer because of outdoor watering.
With changing weather patterns, capturing rainwater is becoming ever more important with a single rain barrel able to capture more than  4,000 litres (900 gallons) of water a year.  
Green Calgary is selling rain barrels for $78+GST and they can be ordered online. The plastic barrels are re-purposed food containers that are diverted from the land fill. They  are low maintenance and easy to use.
Although all pre-orders are sold out, a limited number of walk-up sales will be available Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at various locations around the city between April 27 and June 22.
Additional orders will be accepted when the rain barrel supply is ready. Please keep an eye on greencalgary.org/rain for announcements.
Rain barrels  also will be available this spring at the same price at Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre. 
Water collected in rain barrels has a natural temperature that doesn’t shock plants and is chlorine-free. Rain water harvesting has the added benefit of helping to conserve water. Rainwater capture also helps control excess water from flooding your yard and lowers the amount of water rushing into the storm drains in heavy rain. It is then slowly distributed back into the ground water system when used in the yard.
By diverting water that usually collects fertilizers and other contaminants from storm drains, Calgarians can reduce the amount of polluted water being dumped into rivers and streams,