The “Clean Water Starts With Me” campaign, the stormwater seminar for the construction industry, rainwater harvesting practices, low impact development (LID) techniques to retain and use stormwater are among the collaborative efforts of Pima Association of Governments’ Stormwater Management Working Group to create a holistic approach to stormwater management in our region.

Our community leads the way for arid regions in innovative stormwater solutions. In a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agenday document entitled, “Green Infrastructure (GI) in Arid and Semi-Arid Climates,” the Tucson region was used as an example several times as a growing LID community which uses engineering techniques to mimic natural processes that retain and use stormwater while addressing pollution concerns.

Stormwater management efforts connect with the LID/GI approach through the best management practice of rainwater harvesting.

Rainwater harvesting keeps yard chemicals on site, treating pollutants in runoff biologically through soil processes and slows flood flows which otherwise would be conveyed through the streets and into our fragile desert washes.

Rainwater harvesting provides the additional benefits of storing water in the soil for vegetation, providing habitat, reducing the urban heat island effect, cooling and shading urban neighborhoods and improving air quality.

Promoting this practice is a great way to build stormwater quality awareness while actively conserving water in arid lands.