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Help make your neighborhood greener and cooler: Learn how to rainwater harvest

The City of Tucson and local environmental organizations are bringing neighbors together to create more green spaces
Help make your neighborhood greener and cooler: Learn how to rainwater harvest
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TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Tucson is inviting the community to explore how we can make our neighborhoods greener, cooler, and more vibrant together.

It's all part of the Grow Tucson project. The 'Grow Tucson Summer Workshop Series' held every Wednesday during the month of July, informs the community and shows them how to create green spaces.

On July 23, organizations Watershed Management Group (WMG) and Sonora Environmental Research Institute (SERI), partners with the City of Tucson and 29th Street Thrive, taught neighbors how to rainwater harvest.

Rainwater harvesting is the process of collecting and storing rainwater from your roofs and gutters for later use rather than allowing it to run off.

So how do you go about collecting it?

Well, you have some options. You can either build a basin or invest in a tank.

Leslie Pilli, SERI project manager, says , "you’re naturally using the water, the very little water that we get here in the desert to water your landscape.”

Pilli described the difference between active and passive systems.

“So active is when you store it in a tank right? So you have a gutter system and that water goes directly towards a water tank. Passive is when that water goes directly to the landscape. So you can combine them together or do them separately," Pilli said.

Tanks are expensive and high maintenance, so she says make sure you know your goals for your system and plan accordingly.

The active system aims to capture a minimum of 1" of rain if not more.

If you build a basin, it's preferred to use organic mulch for infiltration areas and rock mulch for conveyance areas if needed.

Community members participated in a hands-on activity creating a site assessment for Freedom Park Center, illustrating the steps they would also need to take at their own homes.

Joselyn Aguilar, WMG community, engagement and education project manager, lead the activity showing neighbors what they would need to identify in their own yard.

“What it is, is you just go outside and see what the rain is doing essentially, so you see where the water is coming from, what are the shady spots in your property, what spots are being walked through the most," Aguilar said.

She said it's all about deciding for the future.

Robert Ellison and his son Aiden attended the workshop and say they are going to put this education to good use.

“I learned about where to put things and sun and shade and passive systems and active systems and wet and dry systems. So I have a better idea of where I’m going to go with this," Robert said.

He already started buying supplies to get a move on things.

"What I'm working on is I have a roof and I bought some gutters and the down spouts they were out of, but they had a couple of 55 gallons drums, so I wanted to start catching water and using it in the off periods to water some of the plants," Robert said. "I want to put more trees and more green space out there to cool things off a little bit and make the yard look a little nicer."

Aiden lives in Vail and said he's definitely going to be adding some things to his house.

"When it storms out there, it storms pretty well and whole desert turns green. It's really nice.," Aiden said.

The benefits of harvesting rainwater is water conservation, irrigation, reduced stormwater runoff and cost savings.

If you plan on creating a system, you can apply for a Tucson Water rebate and receive up to $2,000.

There are requirements you must follow in order for your application to be accepted and the rebate amount will be calculated by the storage capacity of the system.

You find the application and rainwater harvesting guidelines here.

The next 'Grow Tucson: Summer Workshop Series' will be held July 30 and will be an intro to mesquite trees and fall gardening.

It will be hosted by the Community Food Bank and Tucson Bird Alliance.

It is free for everyone of all ages and will be held at Freedom Park Center from 5-7 p.m.

The City will also be going over feedback from the community about Grow Tucson projects.

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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.