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.

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Comments

Pevine, Fri, 03/21/2014 - 10:03
It is a fantastic idea. And with ranchers damming creeks & rivers, more new stock tanks, noxious brush control leaving pastures full of pot holes and now rainwater harvesting, less and less water runs off. If 100 of us installed such systems, 100,000 gallons of water would never reach the lake. It's hard to decide which side of this issue to be on!!! I don't want to lose trees, but I also like running water in my house.
This issue is very complex and will keep the lawyers and regulators busy for a very long time. Another example of innovation being stifled by the system.
Lbar, Sat, 03/22/2014 - 08:41
With our limited water sources, all ideas need to be seriously looked at. Use this opportunity to let him go forward and let's see how it works. The biggest problem I see is regulation and "who owns the water"? What if the guy down the street wants to do the same, but the guys up the street capture all of the water? Within six months we could be in big trouble in San Angelo. It hasn't been discussed much, but I hope the council will be very supportive to gutter systems and water tanks in your yard. And I'm talking much larger than 500 gallons. People have to understand, IT WILL RAIN. But you must have the catchment and tanks in place when it comes. Catch the rain off your property and the ownership issue goes away. Remember, every square foot of surface area can catch 0.6 gallons of water per inch of rain. If your house is 30x60' and we average 20" rain per year, you can catch 21,600 gallons of water IF YOU HAVE BIG STORAGE TANKS. So I ask the council to have an open mind to the tank issue.
Lots of thought-provoking comments here. I come from an area where all usable water comes from an aquifer, so runoff is generally "wasted". Here, that's not the case. Barrington's ideas are good. How much rainwater runs off roofs that could be captured and reused? It is a huge amount (when it rains, of course), but it is phenomenally huge when business areas are considered. The City of Amarillo offers incentives for businesses and home-owners to install rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems. That should be considered here (and everywhere in drought areas.) The chief expense in a simple RWH project is guttering. If gutters are already in place, installing a tank in dispersal system is fairly inexpensive and simple, or can be. (Obviously, it will all depend on what one wants to do with the water and where it needs to go. Obtaining potable water is a different matter entirely!) I'll bet the Ag Extension office has guidelines for such a system.

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