Seaholm Power Development LLC 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. Seaholm Power Development LLC was recognized in the commercial 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 Seaholm Power Development rainwater harvesting system, located in Austin, TX, is an industrial scale project that uses repurposed power plant cooling infrastructure. The 325,000-gallon system provides all of the normal irrigation needs of the five-acre site and the surrounding streetscape planting. The system also doubles as a water quality control system for the site and the surrounding public streets.

The system collects rainwater from rooftops, the plaza within the development, and the surrounding streets. The rainwater is then stored in intake pipes and weirs of the former power plant cooling system. The system automatically drains into an irrigation system at an adjacent park when the system reaches full capacity, emptying the system for the next rain event. By repurposing existing large volume infrastructure, system costs were held to a minimum. In addition, irrigation water for the landscaped urban site is now being provided at a reduced cost.

The system also includes custom manhole covers and interpretive signage to educate the public on the largely invisible system.

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 Seaholm Power Development, LLC project 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.