Harvesting the Rain Project

Leadership Montgomery County Partnership

The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District is proud to partner with the 2014 Class of Leadership Montgomery County (LMC). LMC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, dedicated to developing and enhancing current and future leaders of Montgomery County. Visit www.lmctx.org for more information about LMC.

Harvesting the Rain

Each Leadership Montgomery County class selects a project that addresses a community need. It gives class members a chance to get involved in a real life leadership development laboratory while enabling each to enhance their leadership skills through hands on experience. With the population of Montgomery County growing rapidly and a demand for a substantial reduction in future groundwater pressing, the Class of 2014 decided to promote water conservation through a water harvesting project.

Problem

The county receives its water from the Gulf Coast Aquifer System, which in 2013 saw residents pump more than 102,000 acre-feet of groundwater, while it was replenished at a rate of only 64,000 acre-feet of groundwater. The water demand of Montgomery County is expected to increase to 140,000 acre-feet per year by 2040 with the population surpassing one million people. This deficit-pumping has the potential to not only halt growth, but also to cause subsidence leading to sinking landscape, to structural damage to critical infrastructure, and to increased risk of flooding. Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District believes water conservation and alternative water supplies will allow the county’s population and economy to continue to grow. Learn more about the problem Montgomery County faces on the About Us page.

Solution: Rain Harvesting

One small way business and homeowners can play a role in addressing the larger problem is by conserving water, including installing rain barrels on their own property. The Class of 2014 has been working with three community partners to install collection systems, with tanks donated by Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, in locations that will encourage water conservation and reuse throughout Montgomery County.

Featured Locations

For the project, each location has a system by which rainwater is collected, filtered, and stored for use in landscaping. The installations include educational signage to describe the system and encourage visitors to conserve water. In addition, the 2014 Class is partnering with the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District to encourage all residents of Montgomery County to do their part in using water wisely.