Meet Brook Sarson | Water Harvesting Educator, Consultant and CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brook Sarson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brook, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
We are doing something unique in San Diego, Orange County, and Riverside Counties. We started installing Greywater systems and Rainwater Harvesting Systems in 2008 when there wasn’t a market for this type of work. Typically people will look to a plumber, a rain gutter installer, a landscaper or a General Contractor to do some portion of this work, but most of those professions don’t look at onsite water as a whole system between the plumbing to the vegetation. Because we are looking at the health of our environment at the same time as we are looking at water conservation and water efficiency, we are able to help people save water while also improving their landscaping. While we do larger scale rainwater and greywater harvesting projects also, we keep simple solutions front of mind because we want everyone to have access to the simple things each of us can do every day in our backyard to save water and create more abundance. Because we have walked this line through professional installation as well as education, we have been able to straddle the market and are now the leaders in this unique space. Plumbers, landscape professionals, general contractors, rain gutter installers, and homeowners look to us to facilitate the installation of rainwater and greywater harvesting systems. Because of our range of experience, municipalities also look to us to help set the standards across the county for these techniques.

What should our readers know about your business?
CatchingH2O is a unique company because we span the professions of design, plumbing, landscaping, and construction with a very specific focus on water. While some plumbers may know how to plumb a greywater system, they don’t know how to use the water on plants. And while some landscapers may want to include greywater in their landscape they don’t know how to use it if it is flooding out of pipes instead of pumped through a standard irrigation system. Our unique skillset sets us apart in professional settings. And our love for plants, water, and community sets us apart as a company people trust to be collaborative and supportive. We have installed hundreds of thousands of gallons of rainwater storage and thousands of greywater systems throughout Southern California. Besides that we have taught hundreds of people how to do their own installations.

I am most proud of CatchingH2O at this stage for our company’s team oriented approach to our work. Our company recognizes the talents and potential of everyone in the company and through our mutual respect for each other, our work is outstanding, professional, and clean.

As anyone who starts a business from a passion can attest to, a good idea doesn’t equal a financially sound business. One of our obstacles has been figuring out how to charge what we need to in order to support the team that we need to keep employed to continue to produce high quality work. Unfortunately some of our services already have a high barrier to entry because the cost of water is low, so spending a lot of money to save water doesn’t make a lot of sense to many cost -oriented consumers. However, we are always looking at ways to continue to provide services to people who want them from any income strata, while paying our employees fairly, such as workshops and many Do-It-Yourself support options.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Since I spend a significant amount of time every week driving around the county, I would say that getting to the coast and getting out to the mountains are the places I would take out of town guests. A beach walk at Torrey Pines, a hike at Palomar or in Cuyamaca are the best ways to unwind. There are so many good choices for Farm-to-Table food, delicious restaurants, and breweries. I am mostly in North County these days, but whenever I get down to San Diego I’m surprised at how much the restaurant scene keeps changing.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Rosalind Haselbeck, my long time business partner and friend has been an integral part of CatchingH2O. She founded the company in 2016 and I joined in 2017. Prior to that we had both owned businesses doing similar work, but instead of competition we were able to collaborate until we decided to go into business together. Until 2023 Rosalind and I were partners and together we grew the company, our abilities, and our brand. Rosalind is now “retired” from CatchingH2O but has started a non-profit, Dwelling On Carbon, where she continues to do important work on Climate Change in backyards around the county. I am grateful beyond measure that she trusted me, shared with me, and worked so hard with me for so many years. CatchingH2O would not be what it is today without her dedication to this work.

Website: https://catchingh2o.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catchingh2o_sd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catchingh2o/