Brian Ellis, Certified Water Harvesting Practitioner; Frequent Rainwater Harvesting Workshop Volunteer and Sometime Consultant; Mechanical/Systems Engineer by weekday
Monday, October 24,
2:30-3:30 pm,
ASA Koffler Great Room
With one million plus residents, Tucson is the 3rd fastest warming city in the U.S. and had its hottest month on record in August of 2020. In 2022 Tucson is receiving 30% less Central Arizona Project (CAP) water than normal and will need to conserve ground water. Although the City of Tucson has had some challenges with enforcement of regulations requiring rainwater harvesting for landscaping in new commercial development, and greywater ordinances in residential development, one bright spot in Tucson’s efforts to conserve groundwater has been the residential rebate program. Tucson’s Water Conservation Report reveals the rebate program saved 52.1 million gallons of water over the 2018 to 2019 fiscal year, enough water to supply 160 households annually.
Brian Ellis, a returning speaker, will show how one residential household can make a difference by incorporating rainwater harvesting to reduce dependence on municipal sources. For the first 10 years after moving to Tucson in 2007, Brian enjoyed not having to mow his rock landscape. After installing solar panels on his roof, Brian then discovered rainwater harvesting. He jumped in with both feet, completing Watershed Management Group’s (WMG) water harvesting certification course in 2019 and participating in over 70 WMG co-op workshops installing water harvesting systems in residences in and around Tucson. Brian started and runs the Tucson Water Harvesters Facebook group and recently began offering consultation services.
Brian has B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from Virginia Tech and Stevens Institute of Technology, respectively, and is a mechanical/systems engineer by profession. But Brian has the natural ability to make it clear that you don’t need to be an engineer to establish and maintain passive and active systems for harvesting rainwater, whether you do the work yourself or hire someone to do it.
Credit: Written by Denice Smith (Academy Village Volunteer) and Brian Ellis (speaker)