The 21st century confronts us with an unavoidable challenge: water demand is growing faster than nature’s ability to replenish it. By 2030, the global water deficit is projected to reach 40%, a scenario that threatens both community security and industrial competitiveness. In this context, every drop counts. Every cubic meter not withdrawn from an overexploited aquifer represents an act of resilience and a step toward a sustainable future.
The Heart Water Buda – Rainwater Collection and Utilization Facility emerges as a transformative response in a region under high water pressure: the Austin–San Antonio corridor in Texas, where recurrent droughts, rapid urban growth, and aquifer overexploitation have severely undermined water security. The initiative leverages an industrial rooftop of 100,000 ft² (9,300 m²) to harvest rainwater without ground contact, store it in large-capacity tanks, and treat it through advanced processes including pre-filtration, activated carbon, microfiltration, ultraviolet sterilization, and ozone disinfection. Thus, what was once wasted runoff becomes high-quality water fit for industrial uses and FDA-regulated canned drinking water production.
The strategic goal is twofold: reduce dependence on conventional sources, municipal networks and groundwater, and generate a verifiable water benefit under the VWBA 2.0 framework, Method A-5 “volume captured.” This methodology precisely measures the water effectively harvested and used, subtracting evaporation and overflow losses, and reports it as certified water replenishment. With the installation of digital flow sensors, real-time SCADA monitoring, and annual third-party audits, the project ensures additionality, intentionality, and traceability, core principles of the Water Positive strategy.
The stakeholders involved, the plant operator, technology provider, project structurer, and independent verifier, create an ecosystem that turns this pilot into a replicable and scalable model for other industries. Its relevance goes beyond savings: it represents a paradigm shift where industrial rooftops are transformed into productive, climate-resilient infrastructures. In comparative terms, each year the system will substitute volumes of water equivalent to the annual consumption of hundreds of households, while relieving pressure on the Plum Creek aquifers and strengthening regional water security.
Texas is facing a growing water availability crisis, driven by less effective rainfall, extreme droughts, and increasing demand from urban, agricultural, and industrial sectors. In this context, one of the most severe technical challenges is the near-total reliance on aquifers and centralized public systems, which already operate close to capacity. This vulnerability results in economic losses, public health risks, and barriers to regional growth.
The Heart Water project transforms this challenge into a tangible opportunity by installing a rainwater harvesting system capable of recovering and using thousands of cubic meters annually, substituting withdrawals from conventional sources. The integration of digital monitoring and SCADA traceability ensures that every liter captured translates into an additional water benefit. In the short term, the impact is immediate: reduced pressure on the Plum Creek aquifers, lower water costs, and continuous availability for facility operations. In the medium term, the community benefits from infrastructure resilient to droughts and climate variability. And in the long term, the project establishes a scalable model for multiple industries with similar rooftop surfaces, replicable across the central Texas industrial corridor.
The model is clear: what were once passive rooftops are now active sources of water replenishment. Companies with ESG targets, water neutrality commitments, or participation in programs such as the Alliance for Water Stewardship will find here not only a technical solution but also a powerful narrative: leading through innovation and stepping forward in the transition toward a Water Positive economy.
This project proposes the quantification and valuation of the water benefit represented by the volume of rainwater effectively captured, treated, and used within the Heart Water Buda facility, through a rainwater harvesting infrastructure system designed with technical criteria of efficiency, safety, and traceability. The system collects precipitation from an industrial rooftop via food-grade gutters connected to primary collectors, which flow into large-capacity storage tanks equipped with level control systems and overflow protection.
From a technical standpoint, specific solutions are proposed to ensure full traceability of the collected water, including:
The selected accounting methodology is “volume captured,” which calculates the Volumetric Water Benefit (VWB) as the difference between the volume effectively collected and the volume lost through evaporation or overflow, both determined using calibrated measurement instruments. To support additionality, a theoretical baseline must be constructed representing the volume that would have otherwise been extracted from conventional sources for the same productive use. This analysis will be documented with technically verifiable assumptions and third-party validation.
In short, the project not only aims to enable certification of the benefit under VWBA 2.0 but also to demonstrate that rainwater harvesting can be configured as a technically advanced, scalable, and replicable solution for industrial settings requiring operational efficiency and water resilience.
The project implementation is structured into four successive phases that ensure the design, execution, monitoring, and validation of the rainwater harvesting system. Each phase includes specific measurement parameters, operational control, and technical traceability, incorporating specialized technologies and associated monitoring plans.
Phase 1 involves the technical diagnosis and functional design of the system. This includes detailed characterization of the impervious surfaces available for capture, analysis of local precipitation patterns, and estimation of potential collectible flow. Geographic Information Systems and hydrological models such as the Storm Water Management Model are used to calculate effective runoff, while laser topographic sensors and drones accurately map collection areas. Variables such as potential system efficiency, evaporation losses, and compliance with local regulations are monitored. Modeled data are later compared with real records during the operational phase, and hydrological assumptions are periodically reviewed to ensure validity.
Phase 2 consists of installing measurement and treatment technologies. Ultrasonic or electromagnetic flow sensors are installed at the specified strategic points, along with multiparameter probes to assess water quality in real time. These variables include pH, turbidity, conductivity, and potentially ozone disinfection concentration. The system is automated through a basic SCADA setup with HMI panel and cloud-based storage. Water treatment includes prefiltration, activated carbon filtration, microfiltration, UV sterilization, and ozone disinfection ensuring appropriate standards for industrial and drinking water use (FDA compliant). Sensors are calibrated quarterly, and operational data are logged daily to enable robust traceability.
Phase 3 begins continuous operation with a focus on traceability. Continuous monitoring of water volumes collected, stored, and used is performed, as well as treatment efficiency and potential losses. Flow meters, level sensors, and daily water balance assessments ensure consistency between inputs and outputs. HMI dashboards enable remote monitoring, and preventive maintenance protocols ensure operational stability. Collected data are internally audited monthly, and consolidated results are presented quarterly.
Phase 4 involves external verification and reporting of the water benefit generated. An independent auditor verifies compliance with VWBA A-5 methodology, validating the difference between captured volume and losses, and comparing it to the theoretical baseline. Statistical analysis tools, document reviews, and on-site visits are employed. All traceability is managed through platforms like Aqua Positive, and results are reported under ESG frameworks, with annual reviews and baseline updates every three years or when operational changes occur.
Altogether, each phase reinforces the integrity, consistency, and verifiability of the water benefit generated, ensuring that results are reliable, comparable, and permanent according to VWBA 2.0 standards.
The “Heart Water Buda – R&D Facility for Rainwater Harvesting and Utilization System” is an integrated, decentralized, and technically traceable solution designed to address the growing water stress affecting the community in Buda, Texas. In a region where conventional water sources—such as groundwater wells or municipal networks, are structurally limited, climate-vulnerable, and operationally costly, this project proposes to replace part of the demand through the efficient use of locally harvested rainwater.
The intervention is based on a rainwater collection infrastructure covering approximately 100,000 square feet (9300 square meters), drawing water from the facility’s industrial rooftop. Water is harvested without ground contact (cloud-harvested), conveyed via food-grade gutters into large-capacity storage tanks. It is then treated on-site through a multistage system comprising solid pre-filtration, activated carbon filtration, microfiltration, ultraviolet sterilization, and ozone disinfection, achieving a quality level suitable for industrial and consumer uses such as production of FDA regulated canned drinking water and facility use.
Currently, the system operates without automation and relies on manual logs. The project aims to transform it into a certified case under the VWBA 2.0 framework, using the “volume captured” methodology, which accounts for the net water benefit as the volume effectively used minus losses from evaporation and overflow. To achieve this, digital flow sensors will be installed, supported by a SCADA system for real-time monitoring, and an annual third-party audit plan will be implemented, ensuring traceability, additionality, and verifiability.
The project is situated in the Plum Creek watershed, part of the rapidly growing Austin–San Antonio corridor where structural water stress is intensifying. Regional assessments indicate declining effective precipitation, heightened drought frequency, and increasing strain on groundwater aquifers that already face over-allocation risks. Municipal systems operate near capacity, particularly during peak demand periods, while climate variability compounds supply uncertainty. In this setting, an on-site rainwater harvesting solution, designed for local collection, operational self-sufficiency, and a minimal energy footprint, offers a critical, climate-resilient approach to strengthening long-term water security.
The project offers multiple advantages. First, it generates a measurable and traceable water benefit, aligned with international standards such as the CEO Water Mandate, making it eligible for corporate water replenishment strategies. Second, it reduces pressure on traditional sources, contributing to the preservation of non-recharging aquifers and enhancing local climate resilience. Third, as a decentralized system, it is more flexible, replicable, and scalable, ideal for rural or Indigenous communities lacking full access to centralized services.
Implementation is structured into four stages: technical diagnosis and design (using GIS and SWMM modeling), installation of monitoring and treatment technologies, continuous operation and monitoring, and finally external validation with ESG-compliant reporting. Each phase integrates precision instruments, quality control protocols, and data redundancy systems to ensure the integrity and permanence of the water benefit generated.
In summary, Heart Water Buda is not just a water infrastructure project, it is a climate, social, and operational strategy grounded in principles of water justice, technological innovation, and long-term sustainability. Its development may serve as a replicable model for many other communities across North America and beyond that face similar challenges.
