This video tour of Brad Lancaster’s home was one of my first exposures to permaculture, inspiring me to create this blog:

Rainwater Harvesting

In some desert areas, rain is one of the only sources of drinkable water, so people have come up with creative rain harvesting strategies.

Cut your curb!

When it rains in a city, much water from the street is wastefully sent to a drain. Why not use this water? At first, curb cutting in Tucson was illegal, but Brad Lancaster convinced the City of Tucson that this simple act could play a major role in the city’s water shortage problem. Now, the city even offers rebates for curb cutting. It’s inspiring to see how individuals can come together and make city-wide changes!

Use your roof!

Because our roofs have a large surface area, it’s great for water collecting.

Transport

Once you’ve collected water, you need to redirect it to the plants that need it. Essentially, you should try to leverage gravity whenever possible since it’s doesn’t require energy like a pump.

For example, after curb-cutting, you need to make sure that the soil is lower compared to the road, so that the water naturally flows into the basin.

Plants

Once you have the water design set up, it’s time to choose what to plant. Native, regional plants might have the best chances of survival since they are best suited for the region’s amount of natural rain, and other abiotic factors (light, temperature, etc.). Here it Tucson, this often includes drought tolerant plants like the Tepary bean, Prickly Pear Cactus, and Palo Verde. See this link for more plants recommended for the Pima County Region.