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As she sips her rainwater tea, the Green Guru says, “ Indeed it does!” In Texas rain is a blessing. As we do the periodic rain dance in our home we remember how important rain is to our lives, our homes and our bodies. Water is not always plentiful in Texas and that is why many people have decided that it’s a necessity to catch it. Some collect it for their garden, knowing that plants prefer rainwater to well water, and some collect it to bathe in and to drink, relishing the softness of it without needing a water softener. Rainwater collection systems change the way you think about water and the Green Guru wouldn’t trade hers for the world, or a well.

The facts about rainwater collection:

Every time it rains 1” you can collect almost 600 gallons of water for every 1000 square feet of roof. Now, that means if you have a 2500 sq. ft. house, you would collect 1500 gallons of water for every inch of rainfall. If we average here in Wimberley 32” inches a year then that is 48,000 gallons of water a year! Conserving families use 25 to 35 gallons of water per person per day. This means that a conserving family of 4 living in a 2500 sq. ft. house would be set with rainwater collection alone for their water supply. To make sure you have enough storage to make it through the longest droughts here’s the math: 1) Take the # of people x gallons used per person per day x 90 days (the longest drought in the last 50 years was 75 days) 2) If your family of 4 uses 30 gallons each per day then that is 120 gallons per day times 90 days. So, just 10,800 gallons of storage would get you through the longest drought.

How to conserve water and keep your bills down at the same time:

-Use Energy Star toilets using 1.6 gallons, some toilets use 8 gallons per flush! Or put water-displacing bags in your existing toilets.

-Use Energy Star front loading washers using only 16 gallons of water per load (top loaders use 48+ gallons per load!)

-Wash your dishes by hand and try not to leave the water running, use an energy star dishwasher if you have to have one.

-Buy faucet and showerhead attachments that help use less water.

-Fix any leaks, a drip a second means more than 3100 gallons of water wasted per year.

-Landscape with native water wise plants … Did you know that St. Augustine Grass requires 50” of rainfall a year to be sustained? Buffalo Grass requires 20”.

Special kudos for Katherine Ann Porter High School for designing rainwater collection into their new school! Good Job KAPS! I guess green minds think alike.

Quote of the Month: “The more you know, the less you need.” Aborigine saying