By KIM MORGAN
Chronicle correspondent

Most people, particularly commuters, were quite annoyed during the area's recent downpours, including Montgomery County resident Bob Dailey.

But he was annoyed for a different reason.

"We were probably losing millions of gallons of water," Dailey said.

Dailey is an advocate of rainwater harvesting, a movement that is getting more attention as Montgomery County hits what Dailey calls a "water crisis."

"We're one of a few, if not the only, civilized nation in the world that uses our drinking water on our lawns," said Dailey, environmental coordinator for The Woodlands Township. "I wish we had promoted rainwater harvesting years ago."

Better late than never.

Last December, the Township's parks and recreation facility at 8203 Millennium Forest Drive, began collecting rainwater off the building's roof, funneling it into a 2,500-gallon tank.

All of that rainwater feeds a native plant garden and a natural pond.

The pond is surrounded by native plants – think spider lilies, cardinal flowers and irises – and is home to native critters, like Lesser Siren salamanders, which Stinson said can grow up to a foot long.

That gives whole new meaning to home-grown in Texas.

Dailey said every inch of rain collected per square-foot of roof amounts to .62 gallons of water.

"That's a lot of water," Dailey said. "That's going to give me 620 gallons of water. And we get 43 inches of rain a year, give or take, so that's enough to fill up a swimming pool. It's totally amazing the amount of water we can be saving."

Dailey said one of the largest strains on potable water in Montgomery County is in fact irrigation.

Last summer, 60 percent of drinking water went towards watering lawns, Dailey said.

Rainwater is great for irrigating lawns and gardens, but not so much for drinking or cooking.

Converting rainwater to drinking water requires reverse osmosis and an ultraviolet system to kill contaminants – something that isn't impossible, but could be costly.

"People use at least 145 gallons of water per day per person," Dailey said. "A family of four would have to collect a large amount to meet water needs. You would have to have larger and larger tanks. Some companies are building large tanks, but some communities will end up having restrictions on the size of tanks you can have in your yard. All of this will need to be worked on in the near future."

Dailey said there are people in West Texas whose entire water system is 100 percent rainwater.

The City of Conroe is testing the waters too.

Parks Superintendent Lauren Arnold said they're building the city's first green park.

Construction recently began on John Burge Park at Shadowlakes, 11050 Little Egypt Road.

The 39-acre haven will feature playgrounds, nature trails, and a pavilion with a roof measuring 40-feet by 60-feet – all the better to capture rainwater, funnel it to a 5,000 gallon cistern, and use it to irrigate the park's landscaping.

"We want to be stewards of the environment, try to be as green as possible," Arnold said.

The greener folks can be with water, the greener their wallets.

"The reason we haven't seen more rainwater harvesting is because the cost of water has been relatively inexpensive," said James Stinson of The Woodlands Joint Powers Agency, the central management agency for 11 Municipal Utility District (MUDs) in Montgomery County.

Those days will soon end, Stinson said.

Montgomery County currently gets its water supply from underground aquifers.

But the country's "tremendous" growth has resulted in a water crisis, according to the San Jacinto River Authority at www.sjra.net.

"We have essentially depleted our inexpensive groundwater resources," Stinson said.

By the year 2015, the county will convert to a surface-water system, Stinson said, courtesy of Lake Conroe.

"Lake Conroe was constructed as a water supply reservoir for Montgomery County," Stinson said. "A treatment plant will be built adjacent to Lake Conroe to treat the water."

That means a substantial increase in water costs, Stinson said.

"As prices continue to increase," Stinson said, "there's no doubt people will look to rainwater harvesting as a more viable alternative."

Want to go?
What: Rainwater Harvesting Workshop
When: 8:30 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. July 17
Where: Thomas LeRoy Education Center Auditorium, 9020 FM 1484, Conroe, 77303
Cost: $35 to cover materials and lunch
Registration: required in advance by calling 936-539-7824

Want to learn more?

www.wjpa.net
www.sjra.net
www.harvesth2o.com