Area partnership is using cisterns to help
A Tucson resident works on their backyard landscaping after the installation of a cistern. These 1,500-gallon tanks store rainwater collected from residential roofs to be used for outdoor irrigation.
The city of Tucson, Arizona, set or tied 52 daily temperature records in 2023, according to the National Weather Service. The city also received less than 11 inches of rain throughout that year.
To make the most of what little water the area does receive, a 30-year-old non-profit organization began partnering with the city of Tucson Water Department in 2016 to help low-income residents purchase and install rainwater-harvesting systems.
The Bureau of Reclamation, in an effort to conserve and manage water resources in the west, invested $40,000 of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding in fiscal year 2023 to help the Sonora Environmental Research Institute Inc. purchase 50 additional 1,500-gallon cisterns. These were made available through the partnership’s Limited Income Rainwater Harvesting Grant and Loan Program.
“Reclamation supports projects such as this that align with mission to manage water in the West,” explained Sheri Looper, program analyst with Reclamation’s Water Resources Management Office. “Mitigating impacts of drought through efficient water use and contributing to long-term resilience are core objectives of the WaterSMART Program.”
“Although the average system costs between $2,700 and $3,700, we combine our grant with a Tucson Water Company rebate,” explained Leslie Pilli, the institute’s program manager. “The additional Reclamation funding means most of those 50 participants won’t have to take out a loan.
“Low-income residents want to harvest rainwater and increase shade trees on their properties but are typically unable to pay the cost of a system upfront and then wait for a rebate,” Pilli said. “So, the city’s rainwater harvesting rebate program was primarily only used in higher-income neighborhoods, which typically have an abundance of native plants and trees already.”
The goal of rainwater harvesting in Tucson, Pilli explained, is for residents to store rainwater that falls on their property, either in cisterns or in-ground catchment basins. This is water, she said, that otherwise would be lost to runoff and could potentially lead to flooding.
Residents use it, rather than potable water, to maintain their landscape. Healthy native plants and trees help decrease the overall temperature in residential neighborhoods. The harvested water is not used for human consumption because it is not properly treated.
In the majority of Tucson’s low-income communities, the canopy coverage is minimal, noted Pilli. “We hope by making these systems available to our low-income residents, they will plant more native trees that will create shade and reduce ambient temperatures.”
She said collecting the rainwater from the roof of a typical 1,300-square-foot home could result in approximately 9,000 gallons per year being harvested. That amount increases if the homeowner also builds passive catchment areas to keep rainwater on their property.
The program, in operation since 2016, installed 383 systems. Properly maintained cisterns can collect rainwater for at least 10 years.
Homeowners and renters who are Tucson Water Department customers are eligible if their household income is 200% below the federal poverty level. They must attend a workshop to learn about rainwater harvesting and how to maintain the system. Then, working with an approved contractor, they develop a system plan that is submitted to the city for approval. This process typically takes from one to two and a half months, according to Pilli.
The Reclamation WaterSMART program provides financial assistance to support water management improvements, planning and design activities, water reclamation and reuse projects, and other similar projects that contribute to sustainability in the Western United States. Through WaterSMART, Reclamation works cooperatively with states, Tribes, and local entities as they plan for and implement actions to increase water supply through investments to modernize existing infrastructure and attention to local water conflicts.
To learn more about projects supported by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding through Reclamation, visit https://usbr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/8b6eb627fe704c1aacef5cfc92fafd94.
