John Walton Abubaker Alamailes University of Texas at El Paso

Challenge: How to maintain a lush green environment in the Chihuahuan Desert? Solution: Passive Rainwater harvesting Why use passive rainwater harvesting rather than rain barrels I see on the internet (active harvesting)? How does it work in theory? Will it work in El Paso? How can I implement it in my yard, subdivision, and city? How much money does it cost? Or does it save money?

Capital costs Operational costs

Inches/yrea

Development adds impermeable surfaces: roads, roofs, sidewalks, driveways Harvesting water from these areas multiplies the available moisture above the climatic norm If only 20% of the lot has plants, El Paso is as wet as Atlanta If desert species are used, 80% or more of typical El Paso lawns can be tree and brush covered with no watering

Annual Precipitation
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0 Atlanta Austin El Paso 5X El Paso

Water from impermeable surfaces (roofs, driveways, roads, parking lots) is captured during storm events Water available is much greater than normal for the climate Captured water is stored for later use by plants

Capture area, water storage volume, and area of plants supported must be carefully matched Matching depends upon climate and type of plants supported

Impermeable areas concentrate water in vegetated areas Consider that if rainfall is increased by 5X, El Paso has a lot of water for watering trees.

capture area
native plants

capture area/plant area

Stormwater periodically diverted to shallow depressions with native vegetation

swale swale

street

Natures place to store water is in the soil A year ago we had a wet winter followed by a dry spring Everything in the desert bloomed because the winter precipitation was stored in the soil This natural process can be enhanced to store the moisture in the soil beneath the yard Native species are very drought resistant

Active rainwater harvesting stores water in a tank; passive rainwater harvesting stores water in the soil natures way of storing water during dry periods Most hydrological methods are designed for nondesert locations & dont work well here, the time period between precipitation events in El Paso and the hot climate mean very large tanks are required for active systems The cost of active rainwater systems is dominated by the cost of the storage tank Passive systems always payback financially, active systems generally do not in this climate Passive systems simply enhance natural processes design with nature

200000

Gallons of Water Stored

The soil can store the equivalent of 1-2 feet deep of water over the entire yard Tanks store much less water and are expensive In desert climate tanks are only useful for watering small flower or herb gardens

150000

100000

50000

5,000 gallon water tank costs $2,000

0 0 2000 4000 6000 Lawn Area, ft2 8000 10000 12000

Mulch (usually rock)

Landscape cloth (screen)

soil

Must block weeds and let water into soil, storage is in the soil. Storage capacity of soil can be enhanced by additives (fines, organic matter, hydrophilic materials).

Shallow depressions are backfilled with gravel

No open water for safety or vectors Protects from evaporation during infiltration

French drains (gravel filled trenches) can be used to transport water from downspouts or other water sources Soil must be covered with landscape cloth to prevent weed growth

water from parking lots

A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. (EPA definition) Think of a house and yard (or subdivision) as a series of mini watersheds Where does each portion of roof drain? How can the water from roof, sidewalks, driveways, yards be stored whenever it rains so that plants can live through droughts?

Divide your yard into watersheds Think of where every portion of the roof/sidewalk/driveway drains Make shallow rock filled depressions to receive the runoff and allow it to infiltrate into the soil Use landscape cloth to prevent weed growth, water cannot be stored if it is robbed Plant native vegetation with density related to capture area/ growth area Capture/growth area = 5 (limited watering in May/June to 15 (never water once plants are established) Plants will need watering for about a year, until roots are established, about once every two weeks during growth periods; this can be accomplished with a truck; after that maintenance costs drop

El Paso Native species (e.g., mesquite, desert willow, acacia) 10 years of historical temperature and rainfall data Capture area = (roof+sidewalk+driveway+yard) in watershed of concern Crown area = total crown area of plants in looking from above

Roof and carport water exit carport corner Cobbles allow subsurface ponding and infiltration into soil Soil stores water between rains

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60

rain

rain
Soil Suction (centibars) Water Content (VWC%)

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Passive rainwater harvesting works in El Paso Capture/green area ratio from 5-10 Saves money Saves water Provides a green, shaded lot, not xeriscaping with a bunch of hot rocks Active systems (most of what you will find on internet) generally not appropriate for El Paso our climate is different