That may not be the intent, but when a new subdivision is built that's what has happened, he said.

In a typical scenario for a new development in Edgewood, there are a passel of new rooftops, roadways and driveways that all shed water. Add a slope to the equation and suddenly a few inches of rain turns into a real problem.

Traditionally, developers will install a series of ponds, cisterns and channels for water — which often are the result of an engineer following grading and drainage ordinances that plan for 50- to 100-year floods. Those structures do divert water, but they also concentrate it and speed it up, then dump it into a gigantic pool somewhere out of the way.

There may be a better way, one that feeds plants, makes an area more attractive and keeps the soil where it is, according to Meuli.

"I firmly believe that most engineers are actually looking for permaculture-type solutions," he said.

Meuli and several engineers are part of a committee that is planning to hash out a new and improved grading and drainage ordinance for the town. And many of the ideas Meuli is working with aren't all that new.

In fact, techniques used by Meuli's grandfather, Sam Angell, were featured in an article in the Albuquerque Tribune in 1957.

"I think that's where it started," Meuli said, referring to his grandfather.

Angell worked on the Rio Puerco northwest of Albuquerque with a group of like-mined land owners to create a series of barriers that slowed down the rainwater and let it soak into the ground, rather than wash the soil away.

The result was a patch of arid, barren land began to grow grasses where cattle could graze, according to the article.

Starting in 1976, Meuli began his own work on 12 acres of land in Edgewood, he said.

His home has mud walls and a granite bedrock that is incorporated into the steps to his front door. He has three gardens and lots of grass growing into the hillside between widely spaced trees.

The property wasn't always in such good shape. It sits at the bottom of a roadway built into a steep grade that feeds into a valley below.

One of Meuli's most effective solutions has been simply laying down several level courses of wood chips high up on his property. The chips help to slow down the water and, as soil builds up next to them, they also create a natural step where vegetation can grow and stabilize the soil.

Most of the chips Meuli uses were people's hedge clippings or other green waste. He gets them from a waste transfer station for free, he said.

Another way that Meuli has recycled waste is in the "sponges" he has installed on the uphill side of his trees.

The sponges are actually holes filled in with paper and other water-absorbing material that can turn into compost. The paper will decompose over time, and it also sucks up some of the water flowing downhill and helps keep the soil moist near the tree.

These kinds of water-conserving systems are not all that uncommon in the East Mountains and around Albuquerque.

According to Meuli, more than anywhere else in the nation, the areas in and around Albuquerque and Tucson are making great progress in water harvesting. He added that he is constantly improving his own systems.

"This is an experiment that is in progress," he said.