Texas Rain Catcher Award Details

The Texas Water Development Board announces the Texas Rain Catcher Award, a rainwater harvesting competition and recognition program that since 2007, has promoted the technology, educated the public, and recognized excellence in the application of rainwater harvesting systems in Texas.

**Completion of the application form is required as part of the Texas Rain Catcher Award submittal process.**

Eligibility:

The competition is open to all individuals, companies, organizations, municipalities, and other local and state governmental entities in Texas including former employees of the TWDB. However, current employees of the TWDB and TWDB Board members are not eligible to enter the competition.

Benefits:

There are several benefits to winning the competition. It will help you earn recognition both within the rainwater harvesting community and beyond, as well as enhance your reputation as an individual or entity dedicated to water conservation in Texas. As a winner, you will receive free publicity and will be recognized on the TWDB Web site for at least two years.

Competition Structure:

The competition is conducted annually. The deadline for submitting an entry is June 30 of each year. There will be four different categories in which awards can be made: agricultural, residential, commercial/industrial, and educational/governmental. At the discretion of the judging committee, additional categories may be added during a competition year to accommodate systems that cannot be properly classified into one of the four categories.

One winner will be chosen from each category each year (see the Judging section, below). Winners will be chosen within one month after the submittal deadline of June 30. Winners will be notified by e-mail and by regular mail and will also be announced on the TWDB's Rainwater Harvesting Website.

Once an entry has won an award, it cannot be entered again unless substantial changes to the system warrant its consideration as a new and different system. This determination will be at the discretion of the judging committee.

Judging:

At the end of each application submittal period (June 30), all entries received will be placed in the appropriate category and a panel of judges consisting of TWDB staff and outside experts will score each entry on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) for each of the criteria listed below.

  • Demonstration of how the rainwater harvesting system has helped conserve surface water and/or groundwater through reduced dependency on conventional water supply systems.
  • Demonstration of how the rainwater harvesting system has saved money for the owner.
  • Originality and innovation as evidenced by the application of new knowledge, new application of existing knowledge, or an innovative mix of existing and new knowledge.
  • Demonstration of how the system has benefited the environment (for example, reduced erosion or the threat of flooding) without itself adversely impacting the environment.
  • Uniqueness of the system.

In each category, the individual scores of all judges for an entry will be totaled and a composite total score determined for that entry. The entry with the highest total score in each category will be awarded the Texas Rain Catcher Award in recognition of their contribution to rainwater harvesting.

Entries:

At a minimum, each entry should contain the following information:

  • Completed Award Application: Application can be found here.
  • Digital Photos: A minimum of five (5) and a maximum of ten (10) digital photos (minimum 300 dpi) suitable for displaying on the web. All photographs submitted for the competition become the property of TWDB, whether selected as a winning entry or not.

You can submit an entry electronically via e-mail. When submitting, please send your entry to RainWater-Harvesting@twdb.texas.gov using the subject line, Texas Rain Catcher Award Submission. If you are unable to submit via email, please contact Shae Luther at: shae.luther@twdb.texas.gov.

You can find our privacy policy here.

Entries must be received on or before June 30. Late entries will be considered at the discretion of the judging committee.

Award:

Winners of the Texas Rain Catcher Award will be invited to Austin, Texas, to receive their award during a regular meeting of the TWDB Board in September. Winning entries will be displayed on the TWDB Web site for at least two years. Thereafter, they will be available for viewing in the Archives section for a period of five years. The winning entries will also be profiled in a TWDB newsletter.

For More Information Contact:

Texas Water Development Board
Shae Luther
shae.luther@twdb.texas.gov
Phone: 512-463-8830


Download a pdf copy of the competition details.

Download the application form.


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