Groundwater expert Reno Lamb urges people to look up for water needs
Reno Lamb installed this rainwater collection system on his Oatmeal property when he realized he needed more water than what his groundwater well could produce in a day. The rainwater collected serves much of the garden, livestock, and other outdoor needs. Photo by Daniel Clifton
Ceferino “Reno” Lamb wants residents to rethink their relationship with water, especially the water that falls out of the sky.
“The rain that falls on your land is yours,” said the Precinct 3 board director for the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, which manages Burnet County’s groundwater.
Texas law clearly supports rainwater harvesting, Lamb said, and he has become a strong advocate for the practice, both as a supplement to wells and to lessen dependence on municipal water systems.
Lamb has spent a lifetime developing a sustainability perspective on water sources and uses. His interest began while reviving an old well in California, continued while redirecting an overabundance of water in France, and came to a head while conserving water in drought-plagued Central Texas. He and wife Virginie now reside on a 20-acre ranch in Oatmeal, near Bertram, where groundwater was their only recourse—for a while.
In the early 1970s, while living in Yorkville, California, Lamb uncovered an old spring and well on 165 acres of undeveloped land his mother bought. The well, which had been neglected for years, was once vital to the nearby community. Armed with only a shovel and a few hand tools, he brought the spring back to life and put the once-dry well back into service. Fifty years later, it still supplies water to his mother’s home.
That experience sparked a lifelong fascination with groundwater. After college, Lamb launched a tech career in California’s Bay Area. Later, he and Virginie moved to Alsace, France, settling in an 1890s-built home where they faced a new water challenge: too much of the good stuff.
A spring under their house kept one corner of the building persistently wet. To address the problem, Lamb taught himself about drainage and studied structural solutions. He installed perforated pipes to redirect water away from the house, a lesson in water management that was the opposite of what many Texans face.
When the couple moved to Texas in 2017, they settled in suburban Leander, confident that water would no longer be an issue. But their first water bill of nearly $200 was a wakeup call. Though Leander’s rates were lower than many cities, the reality of water costs shifted Lamb’s perspective once again.
Before long, the pair left suburban life behind for 20 acres near rural Oatmeal. The land came with a well, but a neighbor offered a warning: Check the water. After living in two groundwater-rich regions, Lamb was surprised to learn the well yielded just 2 gallons per minute. Supporting a household, garden, fruit trees, chickens, and cattle on that was going to be a challenge.
That’s when Lamb connected with the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District. Formed in 2005, the GCD works to manage and protect Burnet County’s groundwater, including overseeing well registration, monitoring aquifers, and setting guidelines for sustainable water usage.
Lamb began attending GCD Board of Directors meetings and eventually ran unopposed for a seat in 2024. The more he learned, the deeper his understanding became. The mission, he said, is to ensure aquifers remain healthy for future generations.
“It used to be I just wanted to make sure John’s well doesn’t make Paul’s well run dry,” he said. “Now, I’m thinking about whether people will have water at all in the future.”
The Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District oversees wells that tap into one major and three minor aquifers that supply groundwater to many Highland Lakes residents. In response to increasing demand, the district recently reduced the allowed pump rate for new or upgraded wells to 7 gallons per minute, down from 17 gallons.
Beyond regulations, the district also provides well tags with information like depth, pump type, and yield, helping landowners better manage their water use. Lamb believes education is critical to successfully tapping into new ways to conserve and replenish water supplies.
Rethinking lawns by xeriscaping with drought-tolerant native plants can dramatically cut water needs without settling for a barren, rocky landscape.
“About 70 percent of the water used in Texas goes to lawns and landscaping,” Lamb said. “You don’t have to have just cactus and rocks.”
The Lambs have transformed their property with native plants, a flourishing garden, and fruit trees, including peaches, apples, and figs. One of their biggest water-saving practices is mulching, especially with wood chips. Mulch retains moisture, shields plant roots from extreme heat, and prevents soil crusting, which can cause water runoff instead of absorption.
The biggest untapped water resource isn’t underground, according to Lamb, it’s falling from the sky.
“I think individual rainwater systems are the key,” he said.
Texas receives an estimated 396 million acre-feet of rainfall a year. A Texas Water Development Board report found that Texans used 14.4 million acre-feet of water in 2021 (an acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons). Statewide, residents are using just 3.6 percent of rainwater a year.
Even a basic rainwater collection system can make a difference for rural or suburban homeowners. Connecting rain barrels to roof downspouts is an easy way to start. The Lambs use a larger setup: two 1,100-gallon tanks for their garden and two 1,600-gallon tanks for watering their American Aberdeen steers. Except during last year’s drought, the rainwater tanks have fully covered their herd’s needs.
According to the TWDB, a typical 2,000-square-foot roof can collect about 1,000 gallons of water per inch of rain. In Burnet and Llano counties, that can add up to 28,000 to 36,000 gallons a year, a substantial supplement for gardens, livestock, and other outdoor uses.
You don’t have to capture it all; even a few affordable rain barrels help. Lamb built one of his 1,100-gallon systems for under $400.
For Lamb, the goal is to change the way Texans think about water. Instead of focusing solely on aquifers and municipal supplies, which rely on surface and/or groundwater, people can take simple steps to capture and conserve the rain that’s already falling on their homes.
“I think the corner we need to turn is to think less about the water underground and more about the free water falling from the sky,” Lamb said. “We’re blessed in Texas that our laws don’t prevent us from harvesting rain.”
For more information on groundwater conservation, visit centraltexasgcd.org or twdb.texas.gov. Lamb also organizes local rainwater collection workshops through the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District.