The Agricultural and Environmental Science department is fulfilling our mission to “educate students for Christian stewardship of sustainable agricultural and environmental systems” with our water catchment project.
Last year with the help of Billy Kniffen (‘71), a Texas AgriLife Extension rainwater catchment specialist, the A&E department constructed a water catchment system on the animal stables at the Rhoden Field Laboratory.
Due to West Texas drought, catching rainwater on site and using it to irrigate and water livestock is a priority for this department that seeks to be good stewards and set an example.
“We are trying to be good stewards of our resources,” said Dr. Jim Cooke, professor of environmental science. “We want to model the best practices in water resources management.”
Water catchment involves collecting rainwater from a roof of a structure and storing it for later use. Right now, the water that is being collected at the Rhoden is non-potable, meaning that it is not suitable for human consumption. We hope to eventually be able to purify the water that is captured for human drinking.
The plan is to provide the Rhoden with water, but also to educate students. With this education students will be better prepared to work in drought prone areas as well as in the mission field.
One of A&E’s students, Alex Wann, senior environmental science major from Torrington, Wyo., has done research using the water catchment facilities at the Rhoden. The purpose for Wann’s research was to evaluate the potential of utilizing and purifying rainwater in order to provide in-home-filtered and potable drinking water at low-cost to users.
“The hope is this can be one way families in places around the world can be empowered with the tools to compliment their existing water source, or to replace it with a safer, cleaner, higher-quality source for drinking water,” said Wann.
The Rhoden’s water catchment project has already been and will continue to be a useful tool in our department and to our students.
“At the very basic level, it’s wonderful to see, touch, learn about and work with a real rainwater harvesting system that is in use at the Rhoden,” said Wann.
