Rainwater harvesting grows in the Southwest and beyond to nourish thirsty gardens in a hotter world

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Nothing makes Brad Lancaster happier than a monsoon downpour.

The tall 58-year-old jumped like a kid in the puddles on the sidewalk one recent August afternoon after a half inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain suddenly fell in Tucson, Arizona, during an especially dry summer.

“Sweet!” Lancaster exclaimed, beaming when he saw how the water pooled in a basin he had dug earlier in dirt planted with native vegetation along the public walkway.

“It’s really important that you are ready to plant the rain when it comes, even if it is a small amount,” he said, referring to a simple type of rainwater harvesting that involves digging a hole to allow rainwater to sink underground and be held like a sponge. “The key is to collect every drop of it.”

In the U.S. Southwest and beyond