Thank you to the speakers of the 2011 Rainwater Revival!

View one of the presentations from the 2011 Rainwater Revival:
The Nexus of Water and Energy by Ashlynn S. Stillwell

John C. Kight of Boerne, an independent consulting engineer, retired as director of transportation planning and development after 35 years with the Texas Department of Transportation – San Antonio District. He serves director and vice-president of the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, is a member of the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group for Region L and is a former Kendall County Commissioner. A recipient of the Texas Water Development Board’s Texas Rain Catcher Award, he conducts presentations and workshops on rainwater harvest systems.

John and his family live in a 100% rainwater home. Click here to see more about their rainwater home.

Wayne Jeansonne is founder and president of Solluna Builders, LLC, a full-custom residential green builder in the Austin area and surrounding communities of Round Rock, Bastrop, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Dripping Springs, Driftwood, and Wimberley.

Known as a long-time green building advocate in central Texas, Wayne has green building roots that go back a ways.  Beginning in 1999, he led the Green Builder program at American YouthWorks, an Austin-based, nationally recognized community human services agency.  The program provided a tremendous learning field for both students and leaders as they tried out a variety of techniques and materials to build homes that were energy-efficient, durable, healthy, and cost-effective for their owners.

When Wayne started Solluna Builders in 2002, his goal was to build comfortable, healthy, high-performance homes because, he says, “It’s the right thing to do.”

An active member of the Austin Energy Green Building Program, Solluna Builders has completed three homes that have achieved their highest green rating – 5-Stars.  A Solluna home on the 2011 Cool House Tour (sponsored by the Austin Energy Green Building Program and the Texas Solar Energy Society) garnered much local and national press.  A popular speaker and consultant, Wayne is a Certified Green Professional, a Graduate Master Builder, a member of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, the Texas Association of Builders, and the National Association of Home Builders.

Stephanie and Rick Ertel: After careers in corporate law, most recently in Dallas, Texas, the Ertels moved their law practice to Kerrville, Texas in 2006. In Kerrville, Rick continues to represent owners of closely held businesses and Stephanie conducts mediations as a volunteer. The construction of the Ertels’ sustainable off-grid home near Mountain Home in Kerr County followed five years of research and design and was completed in 2008.   Winner of awards from the National Association of Home Builders, Austin Energy, and Texas Builders Association for energy efficiency and sustainability, the home demonstrates the viability of rainwater harvesting and alternative energy in a contemporary lifestyle.

The Ertels are active in many local organizations.  In addition to his position on the Hill Country Alliance Advisory Board, Rick has served on the boards of the Kiwanis Club of Kerrville, New Hope Counseling Center and St. James Lutheran Church (Harper).  Stephanie is a CASA, and has served on the boards of the Hill Country Chorale, the Hill Country Archeological Association, and the Ladies Auxiliary of the Mountain Home Volunteer Fire Department.

Mark Hastings Austin born & raised, has lived in his 100% rainwater home since 2000 in Hays County with his wife and daughter, and numerous animals. When they were building their home, knowing that municipal water was not available, they researched wells and rainwater and quickly came to the choice of rainwater. Kathi, his wife, is a professional floral designer and well water would have harmed her flowers. Another advantage of rainwater over well water is that there is not mineral buildup, so their plumbing and appliances last longer. Their system consists of a 30,000 gallon ferrocement cistern, which collects from the house, and a 5,000 gallon fiberglass tank, which collects from their barn. They have a three-stage filter system in their garage where a softener would go if they had a well.

Mark studied engineering & computer science at the University of Texas at Austin, and he is the owner of Hastings Communication Services, Austin’s oldest & largest telephone answering service. Active in his national association, he was recently inducted into their “Hall of Honor” for his work throughout the years.

Mark installed much of the rainwater system, with the advice of Richard Heinichen at Tank Town. Mark & his family have learned to be conservative with their water use, which they consider the responsible thing to do.

Michael A. Murphy retired in 2007 after serving as the photography editor for Texas Highways magazine since 1992.  He assigned, shot, or located all the photographs illustrating stories in the magazine. He also managed the color reproduction process, and served as the magazine’s webmaster. Prior experience includes freelance public relations consulting for Fiesta Texas Six Flags; managing the state’s media relations for travel and tourism; and freelance photojournalism for numerous corporate and editorial clients.  He and his family live on Los Madrones ranch near Dripping Springs, which he now operates for nature tourism.

Ashlynn Stillwell is a PhD Candidate in Civil Engineering and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.  She completed a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Master of Science in Engineering and Master of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.  Her research focuses on the intersection of energy and water systems and she has published papers on desalination and long-haul water transfer, energy recovery from wastewater, and wind-powered desalination, among others.  Ashlynn was the lead author of the Energy-Water Nexus in Texas report, providing an assessment of energy and water systems in the state.

Presentation:  Water/Energy Nexus: Energy and water are interrelated.  We use water for thermoelectric power generation and liquid fuels production.  We use energy for water collection, treatment, distribution, and heating, and wastewater collection, treatment, and reuse.  Despite this nexus, energy and water planning activities are generally done separately with no regard for the other resource.  In the context of growing populations and limited energy and water resources, careful management of the energy-water nexus becomes an important factor of a sustainable future.

Richard Heinichen: When Richard & his wife and moved to Dripping Springs, Texas, they’d heard rumors about people who relied on rainwater collection for their entire household needs. They slowly gathered information about rainwater harvesting “for sometime in the future.” Then they had their well drilled, and after one taste of that stinky water, their research efforts into rainwater collection went into hyper-drive. They frantically installed gutters, bought and set  their  tank, and ran piping hither and yon. In the meantime, all that lovely calcium was building up on their faucets, sinks, and them!

They plugged into their rainwater system in August, 1994; their water smelled sweet and had a hardness of ZERO, and they never looked back. They started bragging to neighbors about how good their water was, and before they knew it, Tank Town was formed and Richard elected himself “Mayor of Tank Town.” In the intervening years, Richard has sold hundreds of his DIY rainwater books, and installed hundreds of rainwater systems.

In 1999,they bought eight acres three miles west of Dripping Springs and set up Tank Town World Headquarters, home to their award-winning bottling plant (where the first bottled rainwater in America is produced) and the Tank Town General Store (where customers can pick up necessities from a case of filters to a Grundfos pump). Tank Town is also home to a field of lavender and rosemary, six popular Purple Martin houses, and a resident flock of chickens, ducks, turkeys, and guard geese.

J. David Bamberger, 83,  is founder of the Bamberger Ranch Preserve (BRP), a 501-C-3 foundation, known as “Selah”.  The ranch is in the Hill Country near Johnson City, Texas.  In 1969 he bought what the locals called “The worst piece of real estate in Blanco County”, 5,500 acres of badly managed, degraded ranch land.  He has spent the last 41 years restoring the ranch to health and productivity.  It has been described as the largest habitat restoration project on private land in the state of Texas.

Over the past 41 years he has demonstrated on his ranch how a damaged environment can be restored, which was a painstaking project involving selective clearing and planting of native trees and grasses.

Mr. Bamberger’s background, among many other things, includes  serving in the US Army Corps of Engineers in WWII; Bachelor of Science Degree from Kent State in 1950; co-founder and former Chairman of Church’s Fried Chicken; Chairman of the International Trade Commission (State of Texas;) former trustee of the San Antonio Zoo; former director of Alamo Area Council of Boy Scouts; Advisory Board Member, Texas A&M University Press; and he was instrumental in the formation of Guadalupe State Park in 1981 (his 500-acre ranch was the cornerstone property.) The awards he as won are too numerous to mention, but they span the spectrum of conservation, from sportsmen, to education to environmental awards.

The ranch is dedicated to environmental education, conservation and research, and has been host to students, landowners, scientists and conservation organizations. Bamberger Ranch Preserve was formed in 2002 as a Private Operating Foundation to continue work in perpetuity.

Ranch projects have been featured in The National Geographic, The New Yorker, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Monthly, People, Christian Science Monitor, Historic Preservation, and many other magazines, newspapers and newsletters. He has been featured on Peter Jennings “ABC World New Tonight”, Dan Rather “CBS Evening News”, CNN, National Public Radio and Public Television.

Mr. Bamberger has shown that you can bring badly managed land back to productivity with the right care and he will be sharing his wisdom with us at the Rainwater Revival.

Rep. Doug Miller is serving his first term as State Representative from District 73 which is comprised of Bandera, Comal, Gillespie, and Kendall Counties. He is a member of the House Committees on Appropriations (Appointee: Sub Committee on Business and Economic Development), Natural Resources and House Administration. He is also a Co Chair of the Air Quality Caucus, member of the Rural Caucus, Tourism Caucus, Sportsmen?s Caucus and Manufacturer’s Caucus. Previously, Doug served as Mayor of New Braunfels, as member of Region L State Water Planning Group, and most recently as Chairman of the Edwards Aquifer Authority.

Doug Miller is the former Chairman of the Board of the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), representing Comal and Guadalupe counties. Doug worked with the legislature in 1993 to help write SB1477, it’s enabling legislation. He was one of the original members of the EAA Board and was its longest serving member. He also worked with Senator Buster Brown in the writing of SB1, which created a new (bottom-up) model for Texas water planning and was subsequently appointed as a charter member of the Regional L Water Planning Group. Doug is a former Councilman and Mayor of the City of New Braunfels. Most recently, Doug won his election as State Representative, District 73, in the Texas House of Representatives.

Doug is President of Miller & Miller Insurance Agency with offices in New Braunfels, Seguin, Universal City & Uvalde. Doug has been in the insurance business since 1978 and president of his agency for 25 years. Doug is a graduate of Texas State University. He holds the professional designations of C.I.C. – Certified Insurance Counselor and C.P.I.A. – Certified Professional Insurance Agent. Doug is also a licensed Real Estate Broker and is on the Board of Directors of First State Bank, New Braunfels.

Doug has been president of numerous civic organizations including the Wurstfest, the Comal County Fair Association, Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce, Comal County United Way, to name just a few.

He has been recognized with the Greater New Braunfels Chamber’s Besserung Award (Outstanding Citizen), Outstanding Young New Braunfelser (NB Jaycees), Citizen of the Year (NB Herald), NBISD Silver Unicorn, and Outstanding Graduate of Canyon High School. Doug and his wife Anne, were named Small Business Persons of the Year for New Braunfels.

He is married to the former Anne Mund. They have been married for 32 years and have two children, Douglas II and Amanda.

Sanjeev Kalaswad works as a Program Specialist in the Texas Water Development Board’s Innovative Water Technologies (IWT) program where his responsibilities include coordinating the agency’s rainwater harvesting and ASR programs, managing brackish groundwater desalination projects, assisting in brackish aquifer studies, and developing and maintaining IWT’s Website.

Sanjeev earned his BS and MS degrees in Geology from the University of Poona, India, a Masters in Photogeology and Remote Sensing from Indiana State University, and a Ph.D. in Geology from the State University of New York.

Sanjeev is a licensed Professional Geoscientist in the State of Texas (License No. 478).

Cindy Haynie is a Natural Resource Specialist at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and is on the Technical Review and Oversight Team.  She participates in Comprehensive Performance Evaluations, Surface Water Monthly Operating Report reviews, provides technical assistance to drinking water operators, and is involved in rule writing and other special projects.

Cindy has 19 years of experience working in Public Drinking Water Programs and is a member of the Core Team and the EPA Region 6 Area Wide Optimization Program.

Cindy earned a Bachelor of Science in Food Technology from Texas Tech University.

Bryan Davis is the Bexar County Extension Agent for Natural Resources at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.  Bryan is a native Texan and is originally from Sonora. His family moved to Duncanville when he started school and he graduated from Duncanville High School. He attended Angelo State University where he received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees.  While at Angelo State he met his wife, Cyndi. Bryan worked at Texas State University from 1994-2001 where he managed the 4200 acre ranch belonging to the university. The ranch had cattle, horses, goats and sheep, and he taught land management and livestock evaluation though a field lab he conducted for the university.

In 2001 he began working with the Texas Agrilife Extension Service as a County Extension Agent for Comal County. He worked with both Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners during this period. He held this position for three years before moving to Hayes County Extension service as the County Extension Agent.  Here, he also worked with Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners. He held this position until coming to Bexar County in 2009.

Bryan offer programs on land stewardship, water conservation,  rainwater collection, and livestock management as well as many other subjects. He feels that his purpose is to be a steward of the land.  As he says, “If you take care of the soil and the plants, it will take care of you.”

Emily Neiman: After college graduation, Emily spent 4 years working in Austin with a non-profit bilingual sustainable food community and school gardening program… before coming back to the farm. She is always on the lookout for networking and community-building opportunities that are related to the work at Native American Seed. Recently she has taught herself how to manage the company website, maintain huge archive of native plant slides & digital photographs, and produce the colorful seed catalogs mailed out to customers twice a year. Her interests also include organic vegetable gardening with open-pollinated varieties, swimming in the Llano River and exploring different eco-regions of Texas with her camera.

Weston Neiman: Weston is a recent MBA graduate of Texas Tech University with interests in sustainable building practices. He has designed and installed rainwater catchment systems for potable use on the family farm. He lives in Lubbock Texas, where he did a sustainable building internship with Ogallala Commons, a regional non-profit resource development network whose activities are focused on the region of the U.S. overlying the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer. He has a passion for people and the land, believing we should do everything in our power to use the resources we have in a sustainable manner.

Presentation: Connecting Outdoor Water Use & Responsible Beauty.  Texans use up to 70% of the clean drinking water on their home outdoor landscapes. Traveling around neighborhoods during the intense drought makes it obvious how much water is required to maintain a traditional landscape. Native plants and grasses know exactly how to live right here, with no extra care. Every citizen, urban and rural, can explore and utilize the full pallet of readily available native wildflowers and prairie grasses when re-thinking sustainable landscapes for the future.

After designing & installing 47,000 gallons of rainwater catchment systems on the Native American Seed farm, we’ve got the basic calculations down. Catching rainwater sure opened our eyes; it allowed us to look at our water use and our landscapes. By working together to restore native vegetation, we can all play a part ensuring adequate supplies of fresh, high-quality water for now and the future. Rain garden model landscapes are needed in every community to provide a simple pathway for large-scale social changes.