Many municipalities in the state of Arizona are now requiring incorporating rain water harvesting design to provide newly planned commercial landscapes with supplemental water. Rainwater Harvesting, in a nutshell, is simply the capture, diversion and storage of rainwater. Even small residential properties can benefit from simple rainwater harvesting techniques. Over 7,000 gallons of water a year can be harvested from a 1500 sq. ft home’s rooftop and surrounding surfaces. Small scale applications include channeling rain running off an un-guttered roof via swales in the landscape to sunken, mulched, water-harvesting basins at plant root zones. Converting a 50 gallon drum into a rain barrel is an easy DIY rainwater storage solution. There are also manufactured rain barrels now available at home improvement stores. There is a plethora of rain water harvesting information on the internet and there are local workshops geared towards Phoenix area homeowners to take advantage of our upcoming monsoons. Here are a few of our favorite links for more water harvesting information:
- University of Arizona Water Resource, Rain Barrel Water Harvesting Guide: http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/publications/WaterHarvestGuide.pdf
- Best selling Author, Brad Lancaster Rainwater Harvesting Website http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/
- Valley Permaculture Alliance website provides water harvesting workshops and other sustainable information pertinent to the Valley Metro area. http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/