WESLACO It’s not a new idea, but the latest trend among home gardeners is to collect rainwater from rooftops to irrigate their landscapes. A southern Texas horticulturist thinks it’s such a great idea, she’s organized a conference to bring in experts to help get the word out.
“Rainwater is the highest quality water you can get,” said Barbara Storz, a Texas Cooperative Extension horticulturist in Hidalgo County. “It works wonders on plants. You can add all the sulphur and soil amendments and compost you want to improve your soil profile, but it won’t make up for damage done to plants by tap water. It’s salty and really hard on plants, especially when our river level gets low.”
An entire industry has sprouted to provide homeowners and industry with improved water collection systems, Storz said. These systems include specialized roofing material for optimum collection, improved gutter systems, a variety of collection tanks, and even automatic roof washers.
To show off the latest technology in rainwater capture systems, Texas Cooperative Extension is sponsoring a Rainwater Harvesting Conference, scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Feb. 26, at the Echo Hotel in Edinburg.
Among the speakers will be George Radnovich, a landscape architect from New Mexico who uses rainwater capture systems in his landscape designs in commercial and residential settings, Storz said.
“I’ve had the opportunity to tour several installations that Mr. Radnovich has designed and we are really fortunate to have him come down to share his talents with our area residents,” Storz said.
Also on the program is Billy Kniffen, an Extension agent from Central Texas, who will discuss capture systems for irrigating turf and gardens in schools, offices and homes, and systems to provide water for wildlife.
Dr. Keith Owens, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station professor in Uvalde, will review results of a water use study of several native plants.
A two-year turf grass irrigation study, monitored by the Hidalgo County Master Gardeners, will be presented by Roger Havlak, an Extension turf grass specialist from San Antonio. Dr. Hari Krishna, of the Texas Water Development Board in Austin, will give an overview of rainwater catchment systems in the United States.
The conference will end with a tour of a rainwater harvesting system, located a few blocks from the conference site. The system features three types of storage tanks capturing rainwater from a metal roof.
“We want to highlight some of the options in rainwater harvesting systems at this conference,” Storz said, “focusing on how to provide the best water for our landscapes, while conserving our precious river supplies for home use. Our soils and water are very salty, and the salt build-up is especially damaging to our trees and shrubs, which are the most valuable plants in the landscape.”
Rainwater collection systems don’t need to be expensive, she said, noting that some use the types of underground tanks used in septic systems to collect water which is then pumped up to ground level to irrigate turf and landscaping.
“In the early days of the Valley, almost everybody collected rainwater,” said Storz, “but we got away from it as cities grew and began supplying water to their citizens. In fact, decades ago, every greenhouse at the Texas A&M System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Weslaco and at the Citrus Center had a rainwater collection system.”
Cost of the conference is $15, including lunch and the tour. To assure lunch, participants should register by Feb. 23.
For more information, call the Extension office at (956) 383-1026 or (800) 638-8239.
-30-