FREDERICKSBURG, Texas (KXAN) - When
the clouds dumped four inches of
rain on the Fredericksburg area two
weeks ago, most found relief from
the parched conditions they had
experienced in the two-year drought.
For a local doctor and his family of
five though, the weather event was
just a drop in the bucket.
“We’ve lived in this house for about
two months,” said Dr. Mike Majors.
“Never once have we had to use well
water.”
20 yards from Majors’ Cold Water
Ranch subdivision home sits a giant,
metal tank full of water. Leading up
to the tank are a series of pipes
that stretch about 900 feet in total
length.
“His is the second largest we know
of for a single-family residence in
the country,” said Barry Wall, owner
ofRainwater
Systems, Inc. “That
tank can hold more than 51,000
gallons of water, and it all comes
from the rain.”
That product might sound
preposterous in these dry
conditions, but every droplet of
condensation counts. Wall said the
Majors’ home draws enough moisture
to ensure the family will never have
to rely on well water for drinking,
washing clothes and dishes, even
bathing.
“The system we put in place filters
the water perfectly with a UV
light,” Wall said. “There is a
switch where they can use well water
instead of the rain water, but they
only need that for things like lawn
watering. But there’s so much water
in that tank, they can easily wash
their car regularly and still not
run out.”
And the Majors do just that. The
water from the tank leaves no spots
behind on the car. The filtration
system purifies the water beyond
anything drawn from a well, in
addition to the fact that rain water
is already cleaner to begin with,
according to Wall.
Majors said, within the first few
days of living in his home, his
family noticed the difference in the
water.
“It tastes better, and you want to
wash your hair in it,” Majors said.
“You’re excited to put your clothes
on after a wash, because they feel
so much softer.”
Watch the FlipVideo interview below
with Majors to hear more about the
advantages of this system:
Wall said he has installed several
hundred similar systems across the
nation during his four years in
business. While most are located
within the Texas Hill Country, some
of his systems have gone up as part
of charity work in poverty-stricken
places like Haiti and parts of
Mexico.
“It’s might seem expensive at
first,” Wall explained, “but in the
end, you’re going to be saving a lot
of money. There is no water bill,
and you’ll end up using less
detergent and soap for washing and
bathing. The water’s just that
pure.”
Wall said the system averages
between $15,000 to $20,000. The tin
roof on top of Majors’ home and the
gutters surrounding its edge
collected more than 12,000 gallons
of rainwater last week alone, which
should be enough to last his family
for several months. The renewable
effort has led Wall to speak across
the state, even at last year’sRenewable
Energy Roundupin
Fredericksburg, one of the largest
“green” events of its kind in the
U.S. Southwest.
“If kids want to, they can even
taste rainwater at the Roundup,” he
said.
As wells around the Hill Country
continue to dry up and force some
residents to spend as much money as
the rainwater system could cost.
Wall encouraged those suffering in
the drought to attend this week’s
10th annual event for ideas on how
to battle the drought and the
lagging economy at the same time. It
runs Friday through Sunday.
“Everyone’s looking to save a buck,”
he said. “You don’t have to be a
doctor to have a system like this. I
install them for a lot of different
people, a lot of people thankful
they did the research and made this
decision now.”
