Rainwater harvesting grows in the Southwest and beyond to nourish thirsty gardens in a hotter world

Nothing makes Brad Lancaster happier than a monsoon downpour. The tall 58-year-old jumped like a kid in the puddles on the sidewalk one August afternoon after a half-inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain suddenly fell in Tucson, Arizona, during an especially dry summer. "Sweet!" Lancaster exclaimed, beaming when he saw how the water pooled in a basin he had dug earlier in dirt planted with native vegetation along the public walkway. "It's really important that you are ready to plant the rain when it comes, even if it is a small amount," he said, referring to a simple type of rainwater harvesting that involves digging a hole to allow rainwater to sink underground and be held like a sponge. "The key is to collect every drop of it." In the U.S. Southwest and beyond, home gardeners and landscapers are increasingly using collected rainwater to nourish their rose bushes and cactus gardens amid worsening drought and rising temperatures fueled by global warming. Lancaster and other rainwater harvesting specialists say home gardeners anywhere can benefit from collecting raindrops and runoff from buildings and other surfaces to irrigate plants, even in wetter regions where the practice is less common. Rainwater collecting is widespread in many of Earth's driest regions. In Australia, it's often used for drinking water, bathing and flushing toilets. And in Africa—where Lancaster said he learned more about the practice—it helps communities survive. Saving the rain is also useful in southern Arizona, which is under pressure from a long-running drought. It's drier than ever, with Tucson receiving less than half of the about seven inches (18 centimeters) of rain it usually sees by the first week of September. As much as two-thirds of residential water in the desert city is used outdoors, said Adriana Zuniga, an associate research professor in environmental policy programs at the University of Arizona. "The idea is to use less water from the tap to irrigate," she said. Zuniga, who has researched the water use of the Maya people who lived in what is now Central America and southeastern Mexico, noted that the ancient civilization captured rainwater to survive dry, hot summers. This article was provided by The Associated Press.