Rain recovery system touted

Of all the seminars at this year's 21st Annual New Mexico Ag Expo, organizers predicted Tuesday's water harvesting presentation by New Mexico State University's extension water specialist to be packed for one real reason — the drought.

So many ranchers, farmers, gardeners and citizens have searched for answers to water conservation issues related to the drought, and though water specialist Blair Stringam displayed conservation systems for homeowners and small operations, organizers thought this presentation would be relevant to all operations.

"We have a severe water limitation," said Stringam jokingly to the audience of about 15.

Stringam said his background included irrigation engineering and has been studying water harvesting for about five years.

Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

The Legendary Longhorns, a crowd favorite at the annual New Mexico Ag Expo, prepare to lead the tractor parade Tuesday at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds. From left: Clay Bailey on Domingo, Fred Balmer on Bob and Kelly Wilson on Chuey.

Stringam explained how water conservation systems work, piece by piece, and also showed a variety of styles for each piece.

"I think the simplicity of a rainfall collection system helps people not be so intimidated," said Patrick Kircher, Roosevelt County agricultural extension agent and one of the organizers of the Ag Expo.

Stringam touted the benefits of a rain water collection system as providing superior irrigation water and sodium-free water as well as reducing utility bills.

The collection area

Stringam says a person's system starts with a collection area, for most operations that being a roof of a home or shed, although some systems include ground collection.

Metal roofs are best for irrigation and potable water, according to Stringam.

"You want to collect as much water as possible," stressed Stringam about the size of the collection area.

The in between

Once water is collected, it is filtered, flushed and filtered once more before flowing to a tank for water storage, according to Stringam.

He displayed several methods on how water is delivered to the storage tank, including pipes and filter systems.

"There's lots of variations, you're only limited by your imagination," Stringam said.

The tank and reuse

Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

New Mexico State University Extension Water Specialist Blair Stringam gives a presentation on rain water harvesting systems Tuesday.

The system's water-storing tank is the one variable of the system that Stringam says has many options.

Tanks can be customized to fit the operation, such as narrow tanks for limited space. But Stringam did have a preference.

"You want tanks to be green or black because you don't want algae to grow inside," Stringam said about the importance of the tank being dark.

Mandi Park of Portales said she is looking for water storage options for her personal garden and fruit trees.

"I thought the presentation was good," Park said. "I was looking for the capacity of the tank and the price range. When it does rain, I want to use it."

Park said she's seen systems that use rain water for those times of year when there is little to no precipitation. She plans to get a custom 2,400 gallon tank to put between her garage and fence for her system.

Kircher hopes that those who weren't able to attend the seminar truly understand the wide range of possibilities of a water collection system, from simple water-collecting barrels to metal tanks.

"You can have everything in between," Kircher said.

He added that the only challenge these systems pose to rural settings is that there are often times not enough space to collect the kind of water needed.

"This really works for most home and commercial landscape settings," Kircher said.