George Mills Memorial Rain Garden receives the Texas Water Development Board's Texas Rain Catcher Award

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

AUSTIN – (March 21, 2018) – 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 George Mills Memorial Rain Garden was recognized in the educational/governmental - civic 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 George Mills Memorial Rain Garden is located at the United States Department of Agriculture Service Center in Alpine, Texas. The garden collects stormwater from nearby roadways and channels the stormwater into a storage basin. Water collected from the Center's rooftop into two 2,500-gallon cisterns can also be used to supply the basin.

The two sources are then used to irrigate an 8,000-square-foot park. The park was engineered to retain up to 25,000 gallons of runoff and sculpted to simulate five ecological biomes of the Trans-Pecos Region. The park captures large volumes of urban runoff, decreasing municipal water demand, flooding, and non-point pollution. In addition, the garden is used as a teaching tool for area civic and school groups and is also open to the public.

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 George Mills Memorial Rain Garden 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.