People who like to water their garden should check out a book (actually 2 volumes, soon to be 2) called Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster. He lives in AZ, so he knows what 'dry land' means.

Out of many clever ideas, one is digging a hole for a tree or shrub twice as wide as you would normally make it. Fill one half of the hole with stacked junk mail, magazines and old newspapers, plant the tree in the other side, soak all with water, then cover both with soil to the appropriate level. He said he has a friend who does this (in AZ), and he has checked back three months later and the trees were doing very well, and the junk mail was still moist. In summer.

More ideas, too.

I doubt that communities care so much about the rainwater as they do about the tax they want to collect on it. The next time you go to Las Vegas, check out all the water features they have there. And most of them were created AFTER the new water laws were put in place. All you have to do is pay the right people under the right table, I guess.

Cynical Sue