Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater Harvesting

Water is scarce in the Texas Hill Country. With our drought-and-flood climate and stressed water supply, alternatives to traditional water project development can help increase reliability, conserve resources and protect the environment. An effective, desirable and responsible alternative is rainwater harvesting.

We value rainwater for its purity and softness. Groundwater, aside from being a limited resource, can be “hard,” coating dishes, plumbing, hair and clothes with mineral residue. Often, hard water doesn’t even taste or smell good.

A properly designed and installed rainwater harvesting system can provide clear, safe water for potable and non-potable use, especially for landscaping and other outdoor needs. In addition to providing high-quality water, a rainwater system is actually highly drought tolerant. Because it collects the rain so efficiently, even a light rain can make a big contribution to your water storage! Most of the costs are up-front, covering installation, although regular maintenance is required.

Unlike groundwater pumping, rainwater harvesting does not use a lot of energy. Generally, rainwater is collected from a house’s roof and filtered into a storage container. One inch of rain drops more than 1,000 gallons of water on a 2,000-square-foot roof! You can use the Texas A&M Rainwater Calculator to estimate how much rainwater you could collect at your house.

NEW: Rainwater Harvesting Providers and Incentives Sheet

This document was created to help residents and businesses identify rainwater harvesting providers and incentives. This is a living document that may be updated over time in response to updated incentives or providers. If any providers or incentives are missing, please let us know! We would love this document to be comprehensive. You can email info@hillcountryalliance.org to request an update.