Our Vision

We design beautiful and functional landscapes that can thrive in persistent drought conditions.

The "New Normal" of disrupted weather patterns and hotter temperatures poses a significant threat to the health and survival of our outdoor landscapes. We plan each site for drought resiliency to protect our clients' investment and to ensure that they can continue to use and enjoy their landscapes when outdoor watering is restricted or prohibited.

Our design objective is to strike a balance between minimizing the amount of water and maintenance required to sustain the landscape, and create special outdoor spaces that enhance our clients' quality of life. Simply designing an arid, desert landscape is not our objective; the landscape must convey a sense of place, be aesthetically pleasing, have shade and shelter, reduce ambient temperatures, provide habitat and food for wildlife, and most importantly give inspiration and a sense of well-being.

Even in the driest times, the Southern California climate can sustain a rich and diverse landscape with few resources if the plant palette is climate-appropriate, rainwater is captured and stored, the water needs of the plants and trees can be met with seasonal rains augmented with stored rainwater, and the soil is full of healthy, active biology.

Our design process focuses on integrating the hardscape, grading, plant palette, rainwater harvesting and irrigation systems so they sustainably and efficiently collect, store and distribute water.

We strongly believe that technology can enable our drought resilient landscapes to become self-sustaining. Our proprietary automation systems optimize rainwater storage capacity and deliver water throughout the landscape when and where it is most needed to maintain the health of the plants. Because our automation systems have designed and integrated the rainwater harvesting and irrigation systems, they require little, if any, interaction with the client or their maintenance personnel.

Who We Are

Tom Rau, ASLA, PLA

Principal, Landscape Architect California License #5681

Tom is the President of Urban Water Group, Inc., a Los Angeles-based landscape architecture studio dedicated to designing beautiful and ecologically-functioning landscapes that thrive in drought conditions.

He specializes in applying nature-based solutions that integrate planting, grading, stormwater, irrigation and hardscape design to enhance nature's ecological processes, promote biodiversity, sequester carbon, infiltrate stormwater, and address climate change.  

Tom teaches Plant Studies II and Beginning Stormwater Management in the UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture Certificate Program and has led hands-on workforce training workshops for The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens; Las Virgenes Municipal Water District; The City of Rosemead; Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Gardens; G3 Green Gardens Group; and LADWP.

 He earned his Professional Certificate in Landscape Architecture at UCLA Extension where he has been an instructor since 2013, and apprenticed at EDSA in Santa Monica where he worked on international resort and city planning projects in the Middle East, Europe and China.

 He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from UC Berkeley and an MBA from USC, and has an extensive background in project management, construction administration, land development and portfolio management of commercial and residential properties.

Consultants We Work With