What's Old is New Again : Harvesting the Rain in Texas

3 Abstract: Rainwater harvesting is a centuries old technique of collecting excess runoff from storm events and storing it for later use. Such collected rainwater can then be used in a more timely manner, in proper amounts, and targeted to desired locations. Catching rainfall during intense runoff events can also reduce the negative effects of erosion and reduce the amount of contaminants transported to surface water by stormwater runoff. The Texas rainwater harvesting task force is composed of members from the departments of Soil and Crop Sciences, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Horticulture Science, Ecosystem Science and Management, Family Development and Resource Management, and Wildlife and Fisheries Science of Texas A& M University. Objectives of this task force are to establish a variety of program delivery methods, demonstrate harvest techniques, and develop educational resources. Efforts of this group include training Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists through hands-on workshops to increase local volunteer capacity for community outreach. The task force has also built several rainwater harvesting units across Texas in a variety of locations to demonstrate harvesting techniques and applications. These include harvesting stations in public schools for use in youth education, stations in rangeland to provide water for livestock and deer to enhance forage utilization and herd distribution, collection systems for in-door restroom use and outdoor landscape and garden use, as well as, collection stations dedicated to storing water for use in emergency fire fighting. Finally, this group is actively involved in providing up-to-date, quality educational resources for Extension staff and others to use. These include: the rainwater harvesting website (http://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu), publications related to rainwater harvesting, on-line system design tools, and instructional videos. The efforts of this task force have been instrumental in increasing awareness of the need for rainwater harvesting, developing human and instructional capacity related to rainwater harvesting, and placement of harvesting units across Texas.