Pumps for Greywater and Rainwater Harvesting
This unique course offers a deep dive into the design and installation of pumps for rainwater and greywater systems. Whether you’re a homeowner or a contractor, you’ll build a strong understanding of why, when, and how to implement pumps through a mix of in-class discussion and hands-on installation and practice. The course is fast-paced, thorough, and designed to give you the confidence to apply what you learn to real-world rainwater and greywater projects.
CatchingH2O has been installing pumped rainwater and greywater systems for over 15 years. This class combines in-class theory and lecture with a full installation of a pumped rainwater harvesting system connected to irrigation.
Participants will have a unique opportunity to join our team on select maintenance visits for existing rainwater and greywater clients. This provides real-world exposure to a variety of systems in operation and a deeper understanding of long-term performance and maintenance requirements.
Who will benefit from this course:
- Homeowners
- Plumbers
- General Contractors
- Landscape Contractors
- Landscape Architects
- Architects
Topics covered:
- Context for using pumps for greywater and rainwater systems
- Different types of pumps
- Pump control options
- Understanding pump curves
- Understanding how to determine irrigation demand
- Electrical basics, including hands-on electrical work
- Filtration techniques to protect pumps
- Best practices for pump installation
- Maintenance for pumped systems
Event Details:
Price: $550 per person
Early Bird Special: $400 per person when registered by 2/28/26.
Team Discount: $50 per person discount when signing up a team of 2 or more
Previous Water Harvesting Certificate Course Participants: $50 discount
Schedule:
- Optional: Thursday, March 5, 6pm – 7:30pm: Online Live Introduction to Rainwater and Greywater Harvesting
- Saturday, March 7, 9:00am – 4:00pm: Terra Corazon, Valley Center: Lecture with Hands-On Pump Basics with Rosalind Haselbeck
- Sunday, March 8, 9:00am – 4:00pm: Terra Corazon, Valley Center: Hands-On Pump Installation for 13,000-gallon Rainwater System
- Optional (space is limited): Monday, March 9, 8:30am – 2:30pm: various central San Diego Locations: Shadow our techs to see a variety of pumped systems and perform maintenance on the systems
- Optional (space is limited): Wednesday, March 11, 8:30am – 2:30pm: various central San Diego Locations: Shadow our techs to see a variety of pumped systems and perform maintenance on the systems
Please note:
- Morning refreshments will be provided
- BYO Lunch
- Meet with other like-minded businesses in San Diego
- Get a special discount on lunch at our Water Resilience for Land Owners Symposium March 14
Meet the Instructors
Rosalind Haselbeck, currently with Dwelling on Carbon, founded CatchingH2O in 2016 after nine years of installing rainwater and greywater systems. Her deep technical expertise and willingness to tackle complex challenges supported dozens of unique pump installations during her tenure at CatchingH2O, until her retirement in 2023.
Rosalind collaborated on and installed the first permitted greywater-to-indoor-toilet-flushing system in San Diego County. She also installed a complex desalination and rainwater harvesting system for the Catalina Island Conservancy, enabling the facility to draw from multiple onsite water sources.
In her teaching, Rosalind covers pump fundamentals through hands-on exercises that build comfort with the components and principles of pump design. She also dives deep into pump selection—helping you choose the right pump based on the type of water you’re working with, understanding supply and demand, and the goals of your project.
Brook Sarson, owner of CatchingH2O, has spent 17 years championing simple greywater and rainwater harvesting systems. Her mission is to make water harvesting a standard practice, ensuring the San Diego region is resilient against drought, water access challenges, and the impacts of climate change—such as flooding, erosion, and water quality issues. Brook actively collaborates with public agencies to improve rebate programs, enhance education, and shape policies and research that promote wider adoption of these systems and strengthen water supply sustainability.
Through creative initiatives like the Ride the Tide Bike Tour and CatchingH2O's Water Harvesting Certificate Course, as well as numerous hands-on installation workshops, Brook has empowered both the public and professionals to embrace sustainable water solutions. She’s excited to host this one-of-a-kind class at her property in Valley Center.
Michael Wang, CatchingH2O’s foreman has spent the past two years developing hands-on expertise with the company’s pumped water systems. He has trained closely with CatchingH2O’s partners at McNamara Pumps, expanding his understanding of a wide range of pump applications while refining internal installation processes to ensure long-term system performance in the field. Michael’s day-to-day experience with pumps enables him to help others feel confident with the materials, methods, and practical realities of pump installation.
Claire Acosta, project manager at CatchingH2O, has worked extensively in the field, gradually rising to the role of project lead. Her hands-on experience has given her a deep understanding of the intricate details of pumped system installations. Now, she focuses on ensuring client systems maintain optimal performance through CatchingH2O’s comprehensive maintenance program. Claire plays a key role in supporting the installation team by applying insights from system maintenance to help refine and verify that new systems meet the evolving standards developed through CatchingH2O’s feedback loop.
Reviews
Invaluable hands-on practice of installing and maintaining a variety of water management systems, from rainwater collection to greywater earthworks. Depth and breadth, with excellent feedback. Nice balance of direct instruction and modeling as well as room for independent practice. Very grateful for the opportunity to take part in this class!Read More
The course was more intensive than I thought, but I did like jumping in and immersing myself in the material. I feel I was really able to grasp the concepts, especially in the additional work days. The homework and test were really helpful to inspire me to go through the books and reading materials, and apply what I learned.Read More
I am so happy I signed-up for this course! Brook offers a fun, welcoming, and hands-on learning environment for her students. Through this course I became confident working with tools and systems that I did not have much experience with before. It feels empowering, and the community of people that you meet during the course is truly incredible! I recommend ...Read More
This course far exceeded my expectations which were already high given Brook's expertise. What I didn't expect is how confident I would feel by the end of the course to install greywater and rainwater systems on my own. I had expected I would understand all the options better but, No, this course gave me the education AND the hands-on experience ...Read More
The Water Harvesting Certification course was like no other and greatly exceeded any expectations I had. I didn't want the course to end. In class days are informative and give a foundation for hands on site work. Learning by doing and working with fellow students along side Brook and the other CatchingH2O Team was more than inspiring. We completed several ...Read More
This was a fantastic course! Brook is a passionate, inspiring teacher. I learned practical skills to be able to install water harvesting systems at my own house and gained a foundation of knowledge that I can keep building upon into the future. The class was fun and rewarding, I recommended it for anyone interested in building a more tangible connection ...Read More
Challenging and crazy fun! The opportunity to collaborate and implement strategies with this experimental, encouraging group was the perfect mix. We learned how to install laundry greywater systems, rainwater tanks and catchment systems, along with thought provoking passive earthwork experimentation. Brook exposed us to a broad range of catchment “problems”, along with creative solutions in a true “hands on” work ...Read More
I had been researching rainwater/greywater for a few years now but didn't understand it completely. The course was exactly what I needed to fill in the gaps and necessary details in order to plan, build, and maintain successful strategies for water harvesting. The hands-on nature of the course was excellent and working alongside Brook and the rest of the course ...Read More
This class was amazing! Brook is an awesome teacher and I left the course feeling like I could install these systems at my own house. I loved the hands on experience and felt it was crucial to learn all of this stuff.Read More
Brook is one of the most inspiring people I've met. She's extremely knowledgable, a great teacher, and it's apparent how passionate she is about teaching others to harvest water (she also makes spending an entire day digging fun). I learned a ton in this course - it's the perfect combination of classroom learning (so you understand the theory and where ...Read More
