By Brad Lancaster
This blog entry is reproduced with permission from www.HarvestingRainwater.com
Like much of the country, we are in a record drought with record heat that is drying us out even more; stressing many shade plants, and threatening our cooling soil-carbon sponges—so we should be doing all we can to capture and hold on to cooling, life-enhancing moisture.
But even as the summer rains have begun in some parts of my home of Tucson, Arizona; many people who have installed passive street-runoff harvesting earthworks are NOT ready to receive that free water because their basin inlets are clogged!
Are YOU ready or clogged?
![](https://dunbarspringneighborhoodforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1-Curb-core-pre-cleaning-w-red-X-reduced-and-watermarked-IMG_4476-900x1200.jpeg)
![](https://dunbarspringneighborhoodforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2-Curb-core-post-cleaning-IMG_4479-reduced-and-watermarked-1-900x1200.jpeg)
![](https://dunbarspringneighborhoodforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/3-Curb-core-inside-curb-post-cleaning-reduced-and-watermarked-IMG_4483-1200x900.jpeg)
![](https://dunbarspringneighborhoodforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/alt-8.40-curb-core-reduced-and-watermarked-1200x791.jpeg)
More important points:
• Water flows downhill, so make sure the elevation of the entire bottom of your street-side basin (and the surface of any mulch within it) is well-below the street gutter and inlet elevation.
The deeper the basin the more water you can collect.
• See here for important elevation and slope relationships within street-side basins, and tips on how you can expand their capacity.
• Observe your street-side basin inlets during and after rains, and throughout the rainy season. Clean as necessary.
![](https://dunbarspringneighborhoodforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Curb-core-partially-clogged-by-repaving-reduced-and-watermarked-IMG_8376-1200x900.jpeg)
![](https://dunbarspringneighborhoodforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Curb-core-cleared-of-repaving-partial-clog-reduced-and-watermarked-IMG_9068-1200x900.jpeg)
For more info
Check out the newly revised, award-winning, full-color books Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond available at deep discount direct from the author at https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/shop/
![](https://dunbarspringneighborhoodforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-06-16-at-9.06.26-PM-600x370-1.png)