Rep. Isaac’s HB 1334 Would Help Texas Hill Country With Water And Property Taxes

The system collects, stores and allows the reuse of rain from surfaces, such as roofs or even rivers. Rainwater can be used for irrigation and non-consumable uses without a permit in most areas.

On January 27, 2017, Texas Rep. Jason Isaac filed a bill to the Texas Legislature to allow a property tax exemption for homeowners who invest in a rainwater harvesting system.

HB 1334 states it is related to “a local option exemption from ad valorem taxation the portion of the appraised value of a property that is attributable to the installation on the property of a rainwater harvesting system.”

Rainwater Harvesting Systems aren’t a new resource; their history goes back thousands of years.

According to an article by Erin Ling and Brian Leslie Benham from Virgina Tech, rainwater harvesting systems were used by ancient civilizations for irrigation and drinking water and allowed them to thrive in semi-arid and arid regions.

The system collects, stores and allows the reuse of rain from surfaces, such as roofs or even rivers. Rainwater can be used for irrigation and non-consumable uses without a permit in most areas.

Here are some benefits to owning a rainwater system:

• Zero cost for water
  • Did you ever think you could get free water?

• Lower water bills
  • Using the rain barrels or harvesting systems for watering your plants and flowers will save you money on your monthly bills.

• Zero Sodium
  • For anyone who has to watch their sodium intake, rainwater has zero sodium. Most plants and flowers don’t do well with water from water softeners.

• Keeping it close to home
  • Rainwater systems should be located close to your house, and your drain spouts to catch all the water. This means it’s close by for you, your plants and flowers to take advantage of.

With Rep. Isaac and HB 1334, homeowners might be able to save on your property taxes.

As well as the items listed above, using a rainwater harvesting system can help residents save on consumption of Texas’s limited groundwater resources.

In the seven years Isaac has been part of the Texas Legislature; he has been an advocate for helping the Texas Hill Country conserve what water we have. He also put forward legislation in the 84th legislature which helped Hays County residents keep their water.

Water, water use and conservation is important to all of us.

Read HB 1334 HERE.