The Hill Country Youth Event Center receives TWDB's Texas Rain Catcher Award

For immediate release. Contact: Media Relations at 512-463-5129

AUSTIN – (March 21, 2016) – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) announced today the recipients of its annual Texas Rain Catcher Award, a rainwater harvesting competition and recognition program. The Hill Country Youth Event Center was recognized in the community category.

The TWDB's Texas Rain Catcher Award recognizes excellence in the application of rainwater harvesting systems in Texas, promotes rainwater harvesting technology, and educates the public on this important water-saving practice.

The Hill Country Youth Event Center Complex in Kerrville opened in December 2012. The Center hosts as many as 30,000 visitors a year. The Center harvests rainwater from the roof of a 72,000 square-foot building and from an adjacent indoor arena. The rainwater is then collected in two 65,000-gallon storage tanks.

The system provides water for the 45 indoor and 18 outdoor livestock wash bays and all of the toilets in the exhibit hall. The water is also used for dust control in the indoor arena and to irrigate the event center's native Texas landscaping. By harvesting rainwater, localized flooding, erosion, and runoff into the Guadalupe River are reduced. The system is backed up by the City of Kerrville's municipal water supply, but rainwater has supplied all of the needs of the complex since it opened in 2012.

The Texas Rain Catcher Award competition began in 2007 and is open to all individuals, companies, organizations, municipalities, and other local and state governmental entities in Texas. It recognizes entities and individuals in the rainwater harvesting community and beyond and establishes award recipients as dedicated water conservation leaders in Texas. The Hill Country Youth Event Center is one of five awardees being recognized statewide this year.

The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional planning, and preparing the state water plan for the development of the state's water resources. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial assistance programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood control, and agricultural water conservation projects.