The Current
Edition: February 2026
The Current is the monthly newsletter of Innovative Water Solutions where we highlight the great stuff happening at our company and also bring you up-to-date with some of the current water news that could affect you. We hope you enjoy the newsletter!
Table of Contents
- Employee Recognition – Faces of the IWS team
- Blog Post of the Month: ARCSA Technical Symposium, May 20-21 2026
- FAQ Post of the Month: Can I Install a Rainwater Harvesting System to Solve Drainage Issues?
- Residential Project of the Month: Retention Wall & Swale in Austin
- Commercial Project of the Month: Fire Tank at Acres Grove Nature School
- Water News Article #1: Cases Study – A Community Building it’s own Water Security
- Water News Article #2: The Connection Between Hard Water & Skin Problems
- Water News Article #3: San Marcos Council Nixes Planned Data Center Re-Zoning
- Water Conservation Tip: Plant drought resistant plants suited for your environment
- Current Texas Drought Conditions
- Current Texas Water Calendar
- Video: Routine Cistern Maintenance
- Service Tips
- “Water is soft and yielding, yet it has no equal for power” – Sun Tzu
Employee Recognition – the faces behind the IWS team
We have been implementing innovative water solutions for 22 years… and we are lucky enough to have had some of our employees just as long! Allow me to introduce our longest standing member of the IWS team- the driving force behind implementing our projects.
Gabe Vaughn – Owner, Head of Operations & Tank Crew Supervisor – 20 years.
Gabe certainly wears many hats and his role has evolved with our company! Gabe started with IWS 20 years ago installing rainwater systems. We are grateful for the leadership he brings to our team, supporting our crews and service techs with his wealth of knowledge.
Chris Nerren – Lead Service Technician – 20 years.
Chris is the friendly and knowledgeable face of IWS to our clients. He will troubleshoot the most challenging issues tirelessly and loves to support our clients in learning about their new rainwater and graywater systems.
Cory Coble – Service Technician – 16 years.
Cory has gotten to know the technical side of our rainwater systems and many of our customers over the years. Cory leads our maintenance program, servicing systems to keep them functioning for longevity and efficiency. Starting as a crew member, Cory was honed his problem-solving skills in this role.
Alex Snell – Construction Manager – 8 years.
Alex also started as a crew member, before becoming a crew leader and now leads up our project management. He ensures our construction runs smoothly and on-time.
Christian Gilcrease – Tank Crew Leader – 5 years.
Christian knows tanks! He brings years of experience from the tank industry to our team, traveling all across Texas to meticulously build corrugated liner tanks for our customers.
Ford Grace – Warehouse Manager – 5 years.
Ford oversees material procurement and asset management for IWS – optimizing our buying power to help us provide competitive installation prices.
Blog Post of the Month
ARCSA Technical Symposium, May 20-21, 2026
ARCSA International will be hosting a new Technical Symposium on May 20–21, 2026, at the Grundfos Headquarters in Brookshire, Texas. This two-day event will bring together a wide range of [...]
The Benefits of Rainwater Harvesting in an Urban Environment?
Blog Post Date
Blog post excerpt. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
FAQ Post of the Month
Residential Project of the Month
The First United Methodist Church was experiencing some stormwater run-off from neighboring properties. To remedy this, we installed a drainage swale and mortared limestone retention wall to help move stormwater beyond the house foundation, flowing downhill in the swale.
Commercial Project of the Month
Acres Grove Nature School, A Montessori school in Williamson county, needed an upgrade to their fire protection tank. We helped them by hauling off their defective poly tank and building a 9,000 gallon Corgal tank that the fire department can use in case of emergency.
Water News You Can Use
The Campsite at Shield Ranch Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) system was the first building-scale rainwater supply in Texas permitted as a Public Water Supply System (PWSS).
Many homeowners overlook water quality as a potential trigger for skin issues.
Early Wednesday morning, the San Marcos City Council rejected plans to allow re-zoning for a site where a planned data center was to be built.
More to Explore
Water Conservation Tip
With spring around the corner, many of us are turning our attention to our gardens and ornamental plants. When choosing landscape plants, it’s best to choose varieties that are suited for our zone and climate – think drought-tolerant varietals that are less thirsty!
Texas Drought Monitor
SOURCE: National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
Texas Water Calendar
Local Business of the Month
The Acres Grove Nature School is rooted in the Montessori curriculum, giving children a nature-based education. Their mission is to address nature-deficit disorder, instilling a strong foundation for a positive relationship with learning.
- If you run a small business and want to be featured, let us know!
Service Tips
Don’t forget to clean out your tank’s leaf basket! In Texas, we practically get a second fall when our live oaks shed their old leaves and fronds. These can accumulate in the leaf basket of your tank – for fresher collection, do some spring cleaning of your tank and dump that leaf basket!
Social Media and More
Not a subscriber to our monthly newsletter? Why not? Join the fun below…
Thirsty for more? See our previous month’s newsletters below.
Change the posts in the “Select Specific Posts” section of the Blog Showcase to list the three previous months