New Video Series Available
Phoenix Water teamed up with Watershed Management Group to bring you a video series about passive rainwater harvesting and sustainable desert landscapes. And trust us—now’s the time to take action! You can make landscape changes that will help you grow vibrant, native plants, reduce your water use, and help your plants thrive in our desert environment.
Why Passive Rainwater Harvesting?
Over an average year in Phoenix, a typical 1,000-square-foot roof will collect an estimated 4,800 gallons of rainwater. With passive rainwater harvesting, that’s free water you can capture and use to irrigate your plants, fill basins, or create a cooler, shadier yard with native trees and shrubs.
But let’s talk more about what we mean by “passive” techniques. Passive rainwater harvesting is a way of making small changes to a landscape in order to slow the water down, keep water where it falls, and/or help the water to sink into the ground. This means that just by making design changes once, your yard will be better at collecting water without your help in the future! By using swales and berms to direct the rainfall, you will enhance your yard’s ability to naturally capture rainwater, you can reduce the future need for supplemental irrigation from your water provider. This saves water AND saves money, too!
Trending: Sonoran Desert Vibes
Trends aren’t just for clothes and lattes: what about the aesthetic of your yard? Bring the desert you love into your front yard and get many benefits. Native plants are meant for your yard in the Valley, and if you love pollinators, you can expect them to appreciate your new design choices, too! This fall, we’re celebrating our connection to the desert that we call home: the Sonoran Desert. In our desert home, plants are not only drought-tolerant but are also beautiful and productive. Native trees like mesquite, shrubs like jojoba, and cacti like prickly pear thrive here and provide shade, food, and beauty. By growing native plants, you’re not only saving water, but also participating in a tradition of stewarding the land.
Saving Water Can Be Simple
Our Hydrate the Valley video series will show you easy ways to harvest rainwater—and you won’t need more than a shovel and some beautiful native plants. You’ll learn how to turn your yard into a water-efficient, vibrant space with low-maintenance landscaping techniques.
Whether you’re designing a low-water-use landscape, installing rainwater basins, or planting shade trees, we’ve got tips to make the process easy and fun. And the best part? These small changes add up!
The five-part series of videos include:
- E1: Designing a Water Harvesting Landscape
- E2: Selecting Native Plants for Multiple Benefits
- E3: Vegetable Gardening in the Low Desert
- E4: Cultivating Native Edibles
- E5: Native Landscape Care
“Folks want to be mindful and take action to reduce their water use. These classes are a great starting place to give ideas for low-water-use landscapes that are also colorful, lush, shady, and produce food.” -Charlie Alcorn, Watershed Management Group Instructor
The Time Is Now… Fall in Love with Your Yard Again
You’ve been patient, and the time is finally here! Fall is the ideal season for planting in the Sonoran Desert. The cooler temperatures and winter rains give plants the chance to establish roots in the months before the heat of next summer. Ready to dive in? We’ve made it easy to get started. Don’t miss out on this chance to create a stunning, sustainable yard this fall!
Watch the full series here:
Passive Rainwater Harvesting Video Playlist
Get more inspiration from PHX Water:
Desert Landscapes in Your Front Yard
And for even more tips, visit:
Water Use It Wisely’s Rainwater Harvesting page and our fall planting site, Water Plant It Wisely
Emilie J. Brown is a Water Resource Specialist at the City of Phoenix, one of 21 Water – Use It Wisely partners to offer water-saving advice and programs. Her work focuses on providing actionable, water-saving solutions for Phoenix residents. She loves to be outside with her dog and her fiancé, and her favorite desert plant is creosote!