August 18, 2009

Drop in time

A one-inch rain falling on a 1,000-square-foot roof yields 600 gallons of water — a bounty during times of drought, according to Hill Country Master Naturalist Jim Stanley. But storing rainwater is just one of the benefits of a rainwater harvesting system, said Stanley, who has served as a Riverside Nature Center volunteer for the past eight years. Read full Kerrville Daily Times article here.

August 11, 2009

Rainwater catchment catches on

Many Bandera County residents have been wondering the obvious, when is it going to rain? Naturally, we are all concerned about our water supplies and whether our wells will withstand the drought. Asserting he can provide an alternative to groundwater usage, Bryon Moseley, of Rain Catchment Systems, Inc., claims it’s all on the roof. Read full Bandera Bulletin article here.

August 1, 2009

Collecting rain catching on in Hill Country

It seems somewhat counterintuitive that the longer the drought persists, the more demand grows for rainwater harvesting systems around the Hill Country. They’re increasingly popular because, in spite of sparse rainfall, clouds may prove a more reliable long-term water source than wells because of recent rapid growth. Read full Mysanantonio.com article here.

July 31, 2009

What Roof is Best for a Rainwater Harvesting System?

Rainwater harvesting is fast becoming an attractive water supply option in many areas of Texas; some households are even using it as their sole source of water. Although rainwater is generally clean, it can contain chemical and biological contaminants. Some of these contaminants are picked up in the atmosphere, but others are from the roof of a building when rain comes in contact with it. Read full article TWDB’s newsletter here.

July 15, 2009

Rainwater Catchment… Where every drop counts

With rainwater catchment dating back to 4,000 years ago, the statement “Where every drop counts” has rung true throughout the centuries in countries around the world. As our region continues to endure almost 2-years of drought conditions and our groundwater resources diminishing more with each passing day, one local Boerne couple continues to prove this method works and the statement is true. Read full Hill Country Times article here.

June 19, 2009

The Great Rain Harvest

While Hari Krishna was visiting his native India recently, he traveled through a remote rural village and saw that rainwater was being collected from the roofs of some of the buildings. He stopped and asked the villagers how they learned to build the catchment system. One man went inside and promptly brought out a copy of The Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting written by none other than Krishna. A longtime employee of the Texas Water Development Board, now working as a consultant, Krishna was gratified to find his handbook so far from home, but not all that surprised. Read full TP&W artile here.

Hill Country home off the grid

Talk about the concept of a self-sustained home and the image that comes to mind is a rustic cabin with bare minimum comforts. But one couple in the Texas Hill Country — Rick and Stephanie Ertel — has erased that image. The couple has built a platinum-certified LEED home that is both environmentally friendly and luxurious. What’s more, it also won an Austin Energy Five-star rating. Read full SA Business Journal article here.

June 28, 2009

It’s Now Legal to Catch a Raindrop in Colorado

DURANGO, Colo. — For the first time since territorial days, rain will be free for the catching here, as more and more thirsty states part ways with one of the most entrenched codes of the West. Precipitation, every last drop or flake, was assigned ownership from the moment it fell in many Western states, making scofflaws of people who scooped rainfall from their own gutters. In some instances, the rights to that water were assigned a century or more ago. Read full NY Times article here.

May 1, 2009

Walking in the Rain

When it rains most people stay in and look out. But the next time it rains, get dressed and go out. This is the best way to really know what the flow of water is on … and off your property. Read full article in Rain Garden Networks latest newsletter here.