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Rainwater Harvesting and Water Budget

Rainwater harvesting has been used for thousands of years. Today, homes from Australia to Hawaii rely on it for indoor and outdoor water supply. Arizona ranchers began collecting rainwater many decades ago. This is an ancient, well proven method of adding high quality water to the community water supply. It works very well in our area with only 12" of rainfall.

Rainwater is better for plants than tap water – no minerals! There are no legal barriers to the use of rainwater for landscape use.

Rainwater Harvesting Tips (illustrated article)

Rainwater Harvesting Slideshow (slides plus notes in 3/page format)

Vendors: View a list of local vendors for drought-tolerant plants and rainwater harvesting systems.

Native plant lists:  Native plant list for Prescott and Yavapai County Plant Communities

City of Prescott Water Conservation page

City of Prescott Rainwater Harvesting Water Bill Credit also available for other water saving purchases (for City of Prescott water customers)

City of Prescott Rainwater Passive Harvesting (Rain Garden) Installation Guide and Water Bill Credit (for City of Prescott water customers)

City of Prescott Plant Booklet

Passive Rainwater Harvesting, pamplet from the Cooperative Extension Service

Water Budget Spreadsheet -- Excel spreadsheet to estimate landscape water needs (including effect of rainwater harvesting based on booklet "Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use")

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DAILY DROPLET

  • "Ranchers need clean water for their stock, farmers need it for their crops, every employer needs it to stay in business, and every living thing needs it for life... The law needs to be clear to protect water quality and the rights of landowners."
    Mark Udall

  • "Water is the driver of Nature."
    Leonardo da Vinci

  • "When the well is dry, we know the worth of water."
    Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1746

  • "...and since flow of information is to spirit what water is to life, we'd best think about how to keep the pipes free and unclogged."
    Raphie Frank

  • "In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference."
    Rachel Carson

  • "We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one."
    Jacques Yves Cousteau

  • "Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water."
    Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine

  • "Water is everywhere and in all living things; we cannot be separated from water. No water, no life. Period..."
    Robert Fulghum

  • "It's the water. Everything is driven by the water."
    Mike Thompson

  • "Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over."
    Mark Twain