San Marcos - Texas AgriLife Extension Service will conduct a rainwater harvesting workshop on July 26 in San Marcos.

The workshop will be held at the AgriLife Extension office in Hays County. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by the program, which is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Billy Kniffen, AgriLife Extension water resource specialist at Menard, said the workshop should be of interest to designers and installers of rainwater-collection systems, Master Gardeners, homeowners with systems or those planning to install a system for outside or home use.

“We’ll cover basic installation for outside landscape use, inside potable and non-potable use, sanitation of systems and general system maintenance,” Kniffen said.

“The Hays AgriLife Extension office itself uses three different rainwater collection systems for outside use,” he said. “They are among many located in the area of the nation that has more modern rain collection systems than any other part of the United States.”

The AgriLife Extension office is located at 1253 Civic Center Loop (east side of I-35 and one mile north of the outlet mall).

Those wanting professional accreditation recognition must register through the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association. (http://www.arcsa.org/ ). The course is part of a testing and training regime for persons seeking to become accredited professionals in rainwater harvesting, Kniffen said.

A registration fee of $15 must be paid by July 21 so material and meals can be prepared. To register and for more information, contact Bryan Davis at 512-393-2120 or by-davis@tamu.edu or visit the county’s Web site at http://hays-co.tamu.edu .