“New” Water Source from Rainfall
Rainwater harvesting demonstration sites save water and money
By Danielle Supercinski
Rainwater, one of the purest sources of water available, is often scarce in West Texas. Residents in this arid land must use all available methods of saving water. Rainwater harvesting, which was a common water conservation method in the early 1900’s, is one such option becoming popular again.
Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) and Texas Cooperative Extension, working with various partners, are planning and constructing rainwater harvesting demonstrations in West Texas to educate the public about its potential as a cheap source of high-quality water. Rainwater harvesting will also reduce demands upon stressed aquifers and surface waters.
In Culberson County demonstration partners are the Rio Grande Basin Initiative through TWRI, Extension, International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), Culberson County Underground Water District, local counties, and local labor provided by the Sheriff’s Department.
Bill Teague, county Extension agent in Culberson County, recently received an award from the IBWC for the progressive use of rainwater harvesting on the Culberson County Courthouse in Van Horn. In the near future the Ward County 4H Center in Monahans and the Hudspeth County Extension Office in Sierra Blanca will both have rainwater harvesting demonstrations. These will be some of the first rainwater harvesting demonstrations in this arid region.
Most rainwater harvesting systems in the past were for personal use, but some businesses, industries and public institutions are beginning to use these practices as well. Other Texas rainwater harvesting demonstrations include the Chihuahuan Desert Research Center near Ft. Davis, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Wells Branch Municipal Utility District in North Austin, Advanced Micro Devices fabrication plant in Austin, and Reynolds Metals in Ingleside.
“Rainwater harvesting is of special interest in the drier half of Texas and is being promoted through the Water for West Texans program, headquartered at the Fort Stockton Extension Center,” said Mike Mecke, Extension water program specialist with the Texas Water Resources Institute in Far West Texas.
The project team installed a 2,500-gallon rainwater harvesting tank at the Culberson County Courthouse. A 2,000 gallon tank and 3,000 gallon tank at the Ward County 4H Center are planned for the near future. The Hudspeth County Extension Office demonstration, with a 1,000 gallon tank and a 3,000 gallon tank, will be used for drinking water as well as landscape irrigation.
“The drinking water use complicates installation and raises the cost of treatment,” Mecke said. “But the Hudspeth County agricultural-natural resources agent, Cathy Klein, wants a demonstration of the viability of drinking rainwater to her many residents who currently must haul water or buy bottles.”
Mecke has more demonstrations tentatively planned for the West Texas region including the Alpine Library, McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, several locations in Fort Stockton, Sanderson, San Angelo, Alpine, Ozona, Midland and El Paso.
The largest planned project is for Baptist Memorials Center, a nursing home in San Angelo. Mecke assembled a team to develop a long range plan to install a rainwater harvesting system, drip irrigation, inside water conservation and low water-use landscapes at the request of Bob Knox, plant manager at Baptist Memorials, and his director. The City of San Angelo, Extension and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station scientists and engineers from College Station and San Angelo will have staff members on the Baptist Memorials team providing city input, local advice and economics planning.
“Billy Kniffen, agricultural-natural resources agent for Menard County, is a real expert on rainwater harvesting in Extension,” said Mecke. “Kniffen guided installation of the Van Horn site and is a crucial member of the San Angelo team.”
John Begnaud, horticulture Extension agent in San Angelo, is Mecke’s co-team leader, and is guiding the planning and installation of water efficient drip irrigation and landscape plantings.
“Water specialist Janie Harris is working with Tom Green County family and consumer sciences agent Kathlene Aycock to set up an inside water conservation demonstration to complement other efforts and to monitor effectiveness,” Mecke said.
He said the nursing home rainwater harvesting project will be a three- to five-year project.
The Water for West Texans program is also planning to partner with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on creating a new rainwater harvesting brochure for joint use.
More information on designing and constructing rainwater harvesting systems is available. A new Rainwater Harvesting Extension publication is available online. The Texas Water Development Board has recently produced the Texas Guide to Rainwater Harvesting Third Edition. This publication can be downloaded free of charge from either the TWDB Web site, or from the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) Web site.
