Free rainwater harvesting training offered

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program will host free residential rainwater harvesting and turf management training for residents. 

The events are targeted toward residents in central and northeastern Texas and are offered in collaboration with local watershed partnerships within many counties in the area, including Comal and Guadalupe counties.

The first meeting was hosted on Aug. 18. There will be two more opportunities for residents with one taking place on Aug. 31 and another on Sept. 23. 

The Aug. 31 meeting will be in collaboration with the Lampasas River Watershed Partnership and will go from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and will be held for residents of Bell, Lampasas and Mills counties.

For the training on Sept. 23, there will be a collaboration with the Geronimo Alligator Creek Watershed Partnership geared towards residents of Comal and Guadalupe County. The in-person version of the event will be held from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Seguin Outdoor Learning Center located at 1865 U.S. 90 in Seguin.

Training opportunities will be hybrid-based, allowing participants to join both in person or online via Zoom. 

Harvesting rainwater can help with water conservation and water efficiency.

“Any Texan can collect rainwater and save it to use for all non-potable household water needs, increasing water-use efficiency around the home,” according to AgriLife Today.

There are many ways to collect rainwater including constructing homemade rain barrels and collecting water from specific areas of a roof where water naturally flows off. 

“Other uses for harvested rainwater include filling birdbaths, watering concrete foundations, watering houseplants, washing cars, supplementing ponds and pools, and filling aquariums and terrariums,” as mentioned in AgriLife Today. 

Attendees must register online to participate and receive the training information and the Zoom link for their meeting. To register, visit https://hlhw.tamu.edu/workshops/.  

Participants can also RSVP to events online or by contacting John Smith at johnwsmith@tamu.edu or  979-204-0573. Those who RSVP will receive updates along with instructions to join the online meetings and materials related to the meetings via email. 

For more tips to help with rainwater harvesting and collecting, visit https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2020/08/19/rainwater-harvesting-tips-for-...