Local Man Seeks to Harvest Rain Via Curb Cutting

San Angelo resident Ty Williams, who lives on the south side of town, presented an idea on capturing rainwater that could alleviate some water woes in the private sector. The plan involves “curb cutting” to divert rainwater flow into a storm drain that would be built on his property. Williams contacted an engineering firm to draft a plan for the rain harvesting, which he presented to Council Tuesday.

“Basically what we’re going to do…the slope of the land where I’m at is pretty negligible. We’re going to have a storm drain on my property and the water will flow into that, and the curb will allow that,” Williams said, showing a picture of a curb with a slice cut out of it in front of a drain.

The water that flows into the drain will divert to a storage tank, which he could then use for watering purposes. There’s a small holding area under the drain where a pump will push the water through a pipe to a larger, above-ground tank in the backyard.

Williams estimates that on a small rain, approximately 1,000 gallons run down his street, equivalent to approximately an inch of rainfall. The project will be funded entirely by Williams himself.

In order to allow Williams to proceed, legality questions will have to be answered as far as how large the tank could be and private use provisions that would dictate the water could not be sold.

“I would like to add that like you said, Rodney, this is a fantastic idea,” Mayor Dwain Morrison said Tuesday, reiterating Councilman Rodney Fleming’s applauding of the project. “It won’t work for everybody….but it is a fantastic idea.”

As Williams touched on, the slope of the street plays a large role in the effectiveness of curb cutting, meaning that not all streets would be suitable for such systems.

Tucson, Ariz. currently has a system in place that could provide City staff with guidance in defining requirements for implementation. Council unanimously voted to allow City staff to look into the project.