Some new Texas homes to harvest rain water

Jul 05,2007 00:00 by UPI

AUSTIN, Texas -- Residents of a Texas county say they hope a plan to build homes that harvest rain will catch on in other drought-stricken parts of the country.

Travis County commissioners this week approved a developer's plan to build 10 $500,000 homes that rely on rain rather than wells or water piped in from Lake Travis.

The developers of the Vistas at Pedernales Canyon Trail say a family of four should be fine with 12 to 15 inches of rain a year and Travis County usually gets about 30 inches a year, the San Antonio (Texas) American-Statesman reported Thursday.

Rainwater will flow from the roof into cisterns and then run through filters for household needs, the developers said. County officials called it a small step toward resolving looming water issues west of the Texas capital of Austin.

"We know these are the kinds of things we've got to look at," said Commissioner Gerald Daugherty."