Future growth often challenges communities to provide services and resources at a level of quality and price that residents expect. In the Southwest U.S., this challenge often manifests in the form of increasing pressure on potable water resources. In addition, cities in this arid and semi-arid region face the prospect of increasing temperatures due to climate change impacts. Water harvesting, an ancient practice that has been used in many parts of the world to augment water supplies, can represent one way to help ameliorate both of these problems by providing an alternative source of water for outdoor irrigation and supporting an enhanced urban tree canopy without affecting potable water supplies. In the United States, water harvesting has gained in popularity in recent years for a variety of reasons, including its branding as “sustainable” stormwater management and its ability to address water quality issues traditional stormwater infrastructure cannot. At the same time, the Southwest has less modern experience with water harvesting than many other parts of the country, meaning that adopting water harvesting practices can face uncertainty or even stiff resistance. In addition, much of the research surrounding water harvesting has been conducted in more humid regions of the country, providing less guidance to jurisdictions in Southwestern states. Despite this difficulty, several communities in Arizona have had success in implementing water harvesting on a municipal level.
Keywords: rainwater, stormwater, harvesting, low impact development, green infrastructure, policy, codes, regulations, incentives, demonstration sites, education, stormwater utility