CLIFTON — While Bosque County (Clifton) Rotary Club enjoyed the annual Civic Society’s Turkey Luncheon on Thursday, Dr. Deb Tolman gave a lively talk on water — in particular the water cycle which constantly nourishes all the world.

After giving a little of her extended educational background, Tolman told the group that she works with designing hydrology projects for everything from city lots to 300+ acre ranches.

“I help people see what they have, know where they want to go, and how to get there,” said Tolman, “whether it’s a backyard garden on a city lot, or whether they have pastures and livestock to take care of.”

“Water is common thread, and rainwater collection is important, and often lifesaving in many areas of the world,” added Tolman.

She discussed equations used for the collection of rainwater and equations that are used for feeding and caring for livestock — as many of the Rotarians are ranchers and farmers.

Following her discussion, several hands were raised with questions , one of which was how rainwater collection may affect groundwater levels. She explained that it doesn’t, because the use of the rainwater is simply a slow return to the full water cycle.

“If you collect the water, then use it for livestock or for gardening, you are still simply returning it to the ground in a normal cycle,” said Tolman