Saved by a rainy day? Californians ‘harvest’ water during historic storms

Faced with a sudden influx of water, residents of drought-struck California ask how to keep it around for good

When Kitty Bolte looked at her yard at the start of California's powerful winter storms, she saw more than half a foot of standing water behind her house. At first Bolte, a horticulturalist by trade, contemplated pumping it out onto the street. But with the historic rains coming in the midst of a historic drought, that seemed oddly wasteful.

So instead, she and her boyfriend decided to save it. They found a neighbor selling IBC totes - large 330-gallon plastic containers surrounded by wire - on Craigslist, and filled them up using an inexpensive Home Depot pump. They also dragged some spare garbage cans outside to sit under the downpour, gathering 800 gallons in all.