Tucson Water is offering its single-family-residential customers a rebate of up to $2,000 for harvesting and storing rainwater.
"Rainfall is a resource available to everybody," and the rebate program helps people take advantage of that liquid asset at a reduced cost, said Fernando Molina, a spokesman for Tucson Water.
Water customers may choose from a two-tiered plan.
"The basic rebate covers what is essentially a very simple system," Molina said. "It could be a passive system where they just put in a gutter and dig some trenches to direct water toward trees.
"That's sort of the entry level," he said. "For that, the rebate would cover the cost of eligible labor and materials up to $300."
Customers using such a system aren't required to meet performance criteria for harvesting or storing water, Molina said.
He said the Level 2 option involves more complex systems and meeting performance criteria.
"For that one, you have to be able to retain at least a 1-inch rainfall and you have to have storage," Molina said. "It's looking not only at developing the supply but balancing that against demand. So if would be a bigger system with tanks for storage."
The rebate for a Level 2 system is half the cost of eligible labor and materials up to a maximum of $2,000, Molina said. He estimated that $2,000 would cover about half the cost of a "substantial system" for water harvesting and storage.
"For people who are growing a vegetable garden and have a higher water demand, it's an opportunity to store some water in the summer to use later when things dry out," Molina said.
GETTING STARTED
Participants in the rebate program must attend a free three-hour workshop on rainwater harvesting.
Call 626-5161 to register for a workshop. Workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at Pima County Cooperative Extension, 4210 N. Campbell Ave.
Participants are encouraged to bring a basic site plan - a sketch or bird's-eye view - of their property. More
