And.....

Ex-Prez G. W. Bush had a home built while he was Governor of Texas on his ranch. He asked two guys from the U. of Texas to put in every energy saving thing they could think of. He had in mind almost a home that would experiment with whatever they could come up with.

One thing was ALL the water from the roof was allowed to drain off the edges of the roof and was then collected in grates that ran around the outside of the house. This caught not only roof rain but some ground run-off as well.

The water was then stored in a large underground cistern so it could be used to water the yard and plants when there was no rain to do so. Also a covered patio was built above the cistern and this allowed there to be at least one cool spot in the house that did not depend on A/C or any other outside source for cooling.

Most people would not think of Bush as some sort of Eco-freak, but his house in Crawford is full of energy saving touches. The water saving part of the house, though, is one of the most important.