Mansfield Water Utilities and Tarrant Regional Water District Cistern receives the Texas Water Development Board’s Texas Rain Catcher Award

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

AUSTIN – (September 23, 2021) – 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 Mansfield Water Utilities and Tarrant Regional Water District Cistern was recognized in the governmental 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 critical water-saving practice.

Tarrant Regional Water District awarded a grant to the City of Mansfield for a cistern used to irrigate an adjacent native plant demonstration garden. The grant program is used to support outdoor water conservation features meant for demonstration and education purposes. Thus, the primary goal of the project is to educate Mansfield residents on the benefits of rainwater harvesting, which in turn will help conserve water on a greater scale. The cistern has eliminated the need to use conventional water sources for irrigating the garden and has reduced runoff, erosion, and flooding on the property. Mansfield plans to include educational signage to provide further information on the cistern and other rainwater harvesting systems for visitors. 

The cistern is located at the Chris W. Burkett Service Center and storage capacity is 4,800 gallons in a galvanized steel cistern that collects water from the roof area of the service center. While the roof area is more than 40,000 square feet, the cistern collects from only one downspout with an estimated collection area of approximately 3,500-4,000 square feet.

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. Mansfield Water Utilities and Tarrant Regional Water District Cistern is one of four awardees being recognized statewide this year.

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