| A cistern holds harvested rainwater on a Central Texas property. |
As a growing population continues to dip into finite water supplies across Texas, state officials are taking a closer look at rainwater harvesting as one alternative water source.
LCRA recently hosted a meeting of the state Rainwater Harvesting Evaluation Committee, established by the Texas Legislature this year under House Bill 2430 to study rainwater harvesting in Texas and recommend guidelines and standards for rainwater use. The committee, led by a representative from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), has members from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Texas section of American Water Works Association (TxAWWA) and the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Goal to protect the public
“The standards for rainwater harvesting will protect the public and should encourage more widespread use of this technology,” said Nora Mullarkey, LCRA water use and conservation supervisor, who represents TxAWWA on the committee. “With standards, people can feel safer using harvested rainwater.”
The committee has until Dec. 1, 2006, to report the following to the Legislature:
- evaluation of the potential for rainwater harvesting in Texas
- recommended water quality guidelines and standards and treatment methods for potable and nonpotable indoor uses for rainwater
- methods by which rainwater harvesting systems could be used alongside existing municipal water systems, and
- ways to promote rainwater harvesting statewide.
The committee’s recommended standards will be used by TCEQ and incorporated into the Texas Health and Safety Code. Its meeting at LCRA headquarters on Dec. 9 was the fourth in a series of monthly meetings that will be held through spring 2006. So far the committee has been focused on the first two tasks of its report, Mullarkey said.
There are currently no federal or state public health or safety standards for designing, constructing or maintaining rainwater systems and there is no regulatory oversight for the use of rainwater by communities or public water supplies.
LCRA has encouraged rainwater harvesting programs, discussion and research, and advocated that Texas develop standards and some regulatory oversight for rainwater harvesting. In 2000 LCRA staff provided technical assistance to Hays County in developing its property tax exemption program for rainwater systems. It has sponsored rainwater conferences with the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, Hays County and the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association. LCRA also helped fund The University of Texas School of Architecture to develop a study to consider rainwater collection options for Hill Country developments.
The appeal of harvested rain
It is easy to make a case for harvesting and using rainwater, particularly for residential irrigation and in areas with limited access to water, according to Mullarkey.
“Rainwater is ideal for watering landscape,” Mullarkey said. “Rainwater harvesting also helps limit nonpoint-source pollution by reducing the flow of stormwater into nearby waterways and has the potential help ease the strain on water treatment plants during high demand.”
Rainwater is free, although it is necessary to buy the equipment for capturing it. The cost for home use can range from a rain barrel for catching rainwater for irrigation (less than $100) to about $10,000 for guttering and a cistern, pump and treatment system for drinking, showering and other indoor uses.
For every inch of rain, about 600 gallons of water can be collected from 1,000 square-foot roof area, according to Dr. Hari Krishna, senior engineer at the TWDB. A typical home with a 2,000 square foot roof in Central Texas can yield up to 40,000 gallons a year; a properly managed rainwater harvesting system can provide up to 100 gallons of water per day for a typical home.
Menard County Cooperative Extension agent Billy Kniffen, who spoke briefly before the recent committee meeting, educates school children and others in his community about rainwater harvesting. His home water catchment system cost about $6,500 two years ago. It is his sole source of water from which he and his wife use 70 gallons of water a day.
“Don’t depend on your faucet to take care of you,” Kniffen said. “You can start now, collecting rain in a trash can and using the water to irrigate your plants.”
More:
Download LCRA brochure on rainwater harvesting
Texas Guide to Rainwater Harvesting, by the Texas Water Development Board
American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA)
Mary Morales is an LCRA writer specializing in water topics. |
