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Rainwater harvesting is growing in popularity.  The benefits have always been there, but with changes in environmental, regulatory, and water-supply conditions, the value of a rainwater catchment system has never been greater!

For our purposes, a rainwater catchment system has three components.  First, you need a roof of some sort.  Shingles, tiles, metal, wood shakes are all suitable.  In most cases this is your house.  But it could also be a shed, barn, or carport.  Anything that rain can fall on.  Second, you are going to need gutters or some way of directing the rainwater.  In a few instances we have tanks installed under a butterfly roof or inverted pitch roof.  The final component, of course, is a rainwater tank to store the rainwater.  Let me also add that installing a rainwater capture system is legal in all 50 states! In Texas, your HOA may not prohibit them either!

Rainwater catchment systems provide benefits for both the homeowner and the greater community.  Homeowners benefit directly by capturing rainwater for their own use.  Advantages fall into three different categories—financial, plant health, and security and independence. 

For the homeowner, financial benefits may be the best because rainwater is free!  A one-inch rain on a 1000 square foot building provides 600 gallons of rainwater—at no cost to you!  This saves money on your water bill every time it rains.

In areas of extreme drought, some municipalities are limiting residential watering or filling of swimming pools.  With a rainwater tank you can keep your plants and trees watered during these conditions.  In some parts of Texas people are paying $300 – $500 to have water brought in to keep their plants alive. 

Plant health is another important benefit of a rainwater catchment system.  Plants love rainwater! Ever notice how everything greens up a bit after a rain? That’s because rainwater picks up nitrogen, a natural fertilizer, as it falls through the atmosphere.  Plants receive food and water at the same time.  The alternative is often municipal water, which has salts added to the water including fluoride and chloramines. Rainwater has the right pH for plants often ranging from 5.5 to 6.5.  Compare that to municipal providers ranging from 6.5 to 8.5.  The City of Austin water is naturally alkaline and can range from 9.2–9.7! 

If you want brighter flowers, more vegetables in your garden, and healthier plants you should harvest rainwater. 

An investment in a rainwater catchment system helps provide water security. Having an emergency supply of water on hand is a wise decision in case the supply is cut off.  Water disruptions seem to be more common these days because of natural disasters, water main breaks, or even boil water notices.  For drinking purposes, the water should be boiled or otherwise filtered and treated before consumption.  But just having a supply of water on hand to flush toilets is important too!

Installing a rainwater catchment system benefits the entire community too.  A 2000 square foot house in central Texas can collect about 38,000 gallons of rainwater in an average year.  Without a rainwater capture system, almost all that rain winds up running into the street, down a gutter, winding its way to a creek and eventually the Gulf of Mexico.  Along that path it will pick up petrochemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides.  None of those things are good for a healthy ecosystem.  All that water contributes to erosion of stream banks and rivers.  Sedimentation is actually the number one pollutant of our rivers and streams causing turbidity.  In drinking water supplies, this must be filtered.  It also reduces the amount of light in water, harming plants and reducing oxygen levels for fish.  With a stormwater capturing system you can slow down this runoff and allow rainwater to recharge the aquifer.  Think of it as a buffer—when it rains, you control where the water goes.  Higher aquifer levels benefit everyone.

In conclusion, there are many benefits to installing a rainwater catchment system at your house.  For the homeowner, the water is free, it’s great for your plants and garden, and it can provide an extra layer of security.  From the community perspective, it helps keep the water in the local area refilling aquifers and prevents soil runoff and pollution.

 Texas Metal Tanks manufactures both galvanized and stainless steel rainwater catchment tanks from 90 gallons up to 4400 gallons.  We have a rainwater catchment tank well suited to your needs!

1200 Gallon Galvanized Rainwater Collection Tank

6′ Diameter X 5’8″ tall (to the eave)

Looking to add a cool feature to your landscape that makes your lawn stand out and benefits wildlife and the environment? Why not add a rain garden? Think of a rain garden as a pond that does a terrible job of holding water, but it is a great place to grow colorful native plants and grasses. The pond functions by collecting rainwater channeled from roofs, patios, driveways – and often the overflow of a Texas Metal Tank rainwater cistern. It then lets water slowly drain into the soil.

In more technical terms, a rain garden is a shallow depression in the ground designed to capture and slowly absorb rainwater from impervious surfaces such as rooftops, sidewalks, driveways, roads, or anything that is paved over. Native plants and grasses in the bottom and along the sides tolerate both wet and dry conditions. The rain garden can hold water for up to three days preventing mosquito infestations. Depending on the depth of your rain garden, you might have different zones to accommodate the water tolerance for various plants. You wouldn’t plant cacti in the bottom!

The Purpose of a Rain Garden

The rain garden purpose goes far beyond looking good in your yard. These gardens serve as a natural stormwater management system that protects waterways, recharges groundwater, and reduces flooding.

Environmental Benefits

• Natural filtration. A rain garden acts like a sponge, absorbing pollutants like oil, grease, and pesticides that would otherwise flow into the street, drain into a storm sewer, and end up in local creeks and eventually the Gulf of Mexico.
• Erosion control. Rain gardens control the amount of runoff that reaches local waterways. Sedimentation is the number one pollutant in our waters, and capturing runoff on your property helps reduce it.
• Aquifer recharge. Rain gardens allow water to percolate into underground aquifers. In Texas, nearly 60% of the water supply relies on aquifers for drinking water, agriculture, irrigation, and industrial needs.
• Flood reduction. Central Texas is seeing more frequent and heavier rain events. Rain gardens help offset the increase in impermeable surfaces that contribute to localized flooding.

Benefits for Homeowners

• Keep your water on your property. Why let rainwater run off and take your soil with it? A rain garden functions as a garden rain collector that captures what falls on your property and puts it to work.
• Support pollinators and birds. Native plants bloom from March through December, providing nectar for butterflies, native bees, moths, and hummingbirds almost year-round. Native grasses offer nesting material for birds, and many plants produce seeds eaten by finches, chickadees, doves, titmice, and nuthatches.
• Less maintenance than a lawn. No mowing or fertilizing necessary. Once established, a rain garden largely takes care of itself.

Pairing a Rain Garden With a Rainwater Harvesting Tank

As rain gardens grow in popularity, more customers are integrating a rainwater harvesting tank into their garden layout. The setup is straightforward: collect rainwater from your roof into a tank, which acts as a rain catcher for garden and household use, then route the tank’s overflow into the rain garden.

This combination gives you the best of both worlds. The tank stores water for irrigation and other uses during dry periods, while the rain garden handles the overflow and manages excess stormwater naturally. During drought, stored rainwater can supplement your garden as well as other plants in your yard.

For more information, Grow Green and the City of Austin have a great brochure explaining installation and a recommended plant list. Download here.

A Rain Garden in Austin, TX

Photo Credit MA Watershed Coalition and EPA

Iowa NRCS Urban Conservation Photo Gallery

Native Rain Garden Plants

• Texas columbine (Aquilegia hinckleyana)
• Blue Texas star (Amsonia illustria)
• Longspur columbine (Aquilegia longissima)
• Blue mistflower (Eupatorium coelestinum)
• Turk’s cap (M. aboreus var. Drummondii)
• Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium)
• Cross vine (Bignonia capreolata)

For more plant options, see Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s list of plants suited for rain gardens or search the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center native plant database.