Contact: Shelley Franklin
Garland Water Utilities
972-205-3285
sfrankli@ci.garland.tx.us
If you grew up on a farm, or you were a conservation trailblazer, your family may have kept a barrel sitting outside under the eave of your home or a gutter downspout to catch, or “harvest”, rainwater. That storage barrel provided water for plants, animals and even personal use, and was especially valuable between rains or if your primary water source ran low. According to Dotty Woodson, Ed.D., Extension Program Specialist – Water Resources with the Texas A&M Texas AgriLife Extension Service, for centuries people have diverted, collected and stored rainwater for drinking and agriculture. When safe drinking water became readily available by the turn of a tap, many people abandoned the idea of rainwater harvesting. Dr. Woodson states “because efficient use of landscape irrigation water is increasingly important to Texas, a renewed interest in rainwater harvesting has emerged.”
Rainwater collection declined as centralized, reliable water systems developed, providing safe drinking water to most U.S. homes. However, the growing population and a limited supply of ground and surface water, makes increased water conservation a necessity for Texas. Most of us have been conserving water indoors for years. Now, we must look at landscape water conservation. In many communities, thirty to fifty percent of total water used during the summer is for landscape irrigation. Many irrigation systems are inefficient and require repair. Irrigation controllers are not always set correctly or changed for the different seasons. Rainwater harvesting is an innovative method to capture, divert and store rainwater for later use in the landscape. Harvesting rainwater for landscape irrigation can reduce water bills and reduce demand on the municipal water supply. (For more information about rainwater harvesting, visit http://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu)
In March, the City of Garland and the City of Mesquite will offer their first rainwater harvesting class, taught by Dr. Woodson. The program was developed as a joint project between the two cities in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and financed through the Trinity River Basin Environmental Restoration Initiative with grant funds from Texas AgriLife Research and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. According to Shelley Franklin, Public Education Specialist for Garland Water Utilities, making the decision to partner with the City of Mesquite was easy. “Garland and Mesquite are neighbors and our citizens share many of the same issues and interests with regard to water conservation. Both cities had been receiving requests for this kind of information. We knew that pooling our facility and staff resources for these classes would enable us to reach more of our citizens.” Four classes will be offered, at locations alternating between Garland and Mesquite. Each class will last about two hours and is limited to thirty people. The first hour of class will provide information regarding outdoor water conservation, including the use of native and drought-tolerant plants. During the second hour, attendees will move outdoors to create their own rain barrel to take home. The cost for the class is $10 per person, limit one barrel per person. Beginning February 1st, registration forms may be downloaded at www.garlandwater.com. Online registration will be available at http://play.garlandparks.com. Click on “PLAY registration”.
Click here to download Registration Form>>
Schedule and location of rainwater harvesting classes:
March 14 10:30 a.m.
Audubon Rec Center, 342 Oates Dr., Garland
April 25 9:00 a.m.
City Lake Park, 403 S. Galloway, Mesquite
May 30 9:00 a.m.
City Lake Park, 403 S. Galloway, Mesquite
June 27 10:30 a.m.
Audubon Rec Center, 342 Oates Dr., Garland