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Choosing native plants can help you minimize the need for artificial irrigation of your San Diego County sustainable landscaping. Photo: SDCWA

Take the Watershed Approach to Landscaping

/in /by by Water News Network Staff

Many San Diego County residents embrace sustainability as a central principle for creating or renovating their landscapes. Treating every garden, no matter its size, as its own mini-watershed allows it to capture and retain water to nurture a diverse habitat of plants and helpful insects.

What elements do you need to consider when taking a watershed approach to your landscape?

Follow the Four Key Principles of Sustainable Landscaping

The formula for successful sustainable landscaping includes four key principles:

  • Healthy, Living Soils: Healthy, living soils rich in organic content feed a complex soil food web. The soil holds water like a sponge, and has nutrients for optimal plant health.
  • Climate Appropriate Plants: Many choices of beautiful groundcovers, shrubs, and trees are compatible with San Diego’s mild Mediterranean climate. These plants use less water and display diverse colors, textures and shaped with endless design options.
  • Rainwater as a Resource: Sustainable landscapes make the most of natural rainfall. Slowing the flow of water off rooftops and hard surfaces allow it to be captured and sink into the soil, or be stored for later use.
  • High-Efficiency Irrigation: Your irrigation can maximize water-use efficiency through smart controllers to adjust water automatically to changing weather conditions, and high-performance distribution components to regulate pressure and tailor water delivery to the exact needs of your landscape plants.

Those principles were then put into practice at the Sustainable Landscaping Demonstration Garden at the Water Authority headquarters, 4677 Overland Ave., San Diego.

The 3,000-squre-foot garden is open to the public. It includes an exhibit-quality sign to introduce visitors to key sustainable landscaping principles. Smaller signs throughout the landscape identify specific plant types. Free brochures on sustainable landscaping featuring the landscape’s design plan and plant palette are also available for visitors to take home.

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. Hardcopies are available free of charge at the Water Authority’s headquarters, 4677 Overland Ave., Kearny Mesa. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

Can The Salton Sea Be Saved?

/in /by /The Week Magazine (New York)by Catherine Garcia Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

If you don’t live near the fading banks of the Salton Sea, it’s easy to forget it exists — that is, until the winds pick up. Depending on which way they are blowing, gusts carry tiny, toxic particulates — and sometimes the stench of decaying fish and sulfur dioxide — from the Colorado Desert to Los Angeles, Phoenix, and points beyond. The smell is a reminder of the public health crisis that will occur if more isn’t done — and quickly — to save the sea.

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California Board Debates Lawsuit, Seeks Scrutiny Of Contaminated Flows From Mexico

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Sandra Dibble

Members of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board have agreed to take the first step toward filing a lawsuit against the federal government to stem the cross-border flow of contaminated water into the Tijuana River Valley. Voting in a closed session on Monday, board members authorized staff to prepare a 60-day notice of intent to litigate against the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission for violations of the Clean Water Act. David Gibson, the board’s executive officer, said the state agency will offer details of the decision in a statement that will be released in coming days.

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‘Pineapple Express’ Forecast To Deliver Three Days Of Rain To Bay Area

/in /by /SF Gateby Amy Graff

A warm, wet storm known as a “pineapple express” chugged into the San Francisco Bay Area Tuesday, with the first rain falling in the early morning in the South Bay. The system driven by an atmospheric river that’s pulling moisture from the subtropics is centered in Central and Southern California, but its northern edge is forecast to bring rain to the Bay Area Tuesday through Thursday. San Francisco, Livermore and Concord are expected to record 1 to 1.5 inches across the three-day period; San Rafael and Half Moon Bay 1.5 to 2 inches; and Santa Cruz 2 to 3 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

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Winter Storm Expected; Free Sandbags Available

/in /by /Valley Road Runner (Valley Center)by Gig Conaughton

The National Weather Service is predicting rain around San Diego County this week, potentially heavy rain on Thursday. People in unincorporated areas can get free sandbags at numerous locations to help them protect their homes, properties and communities. County public works officials said the coming rain was also a good reminder for people to check around their home and land to make sure drainage areas are clear and free of debris.

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California Farm District Drops Water Lawsuit, Seeking To Settle Dispute

/in /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ian James

Last year, farmers who lead the irrigation district in Blythe sued the biggest urban water district in the country to challenge what they called a “water grab.” Now the Palo Verde Irrigation District has dropped that lawsuit, looking to smooth the way toward a possible settlement with the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

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California State Capitol Building Dome

Voters Overwhelmingly Oppose Proposed Water Tax

/in /by by Water News Network Staff

California voters overwhelmingly oppose state legislation that would create a new tax on drinking water, according to a recent poll of likely 2018 voters around the state.

In all, 73 percent said they opposed Senate legislation that would impose a tax on residential customers across the state in order to fund safe drinking water for disadvantaged communities living in areas with groundwater contamination. Over half said they “strongly opposed” the measure, while just 8 percent said they “strongly supported” it.

When asked their preference, three out of four voters preferred using existing state funds for providing safe drinking water to low-income communities in need, rather than establishing a new tax on drinking water. Just one in five voters chose a new tax on drinking water. Five percent said they didn’t know.

The results cross party and demographic lines, and preferences held firm even as respondents learned more about the tax proposal and its aims to provide safe drinking water to low-income communities.

“Clearly, voters want elected officials in Sacramento to use existing resources such as the state’s general fund, available federal funds, voter-approved water bonds and agricultural assessments intended for this purpose to fund the objective of this policy,” according to Tulchin Research, which conducted the poll of 1,000 likely voters in late January. The poll was commissioned by the Association of California Water Agencies and has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

The legislation in question, Senate Bill 623 by Sen. Bill Monning of Carmel, proposes taxing fertilizer, dairy products and water customers around the state to address groundwater pollution largely related to farming.

The bill is opposed by water agencies, including the San Diego County Water Authority, as well as their industry organizations such as the Association of California Water Agencies and California Municipal Utilities Association.

Opponents of the bill say the bill violates the California principle of “polluter pays” by putting the onus of cleanup on urban ratepayers. They say a greater portion of the funding for drinking water pollution cleanup should come from the agricultural and dairy industries, whose assessments make up just 15 percent of the anticipated revenue. Poll respondents agreed overwhelmingly that ratepaying customers should not be stuck with the bill.

 

‘Significant’ Storm Expected To Bring Steady Rain To Southern California This Week

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alene Tchekmedyian

A storm system moving toward Southern California will bring a “long period” of steady rain across the region this week and could trigger debris flows in recent burn areas, forecasters said. The storm is expected to drop 2 to 4 inches of rain along the coast and in the valleys in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and 4 to 6 inches in the mountains between Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning, said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. South-facing slopes could see up to 8 inches in some areas.

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OPINION: Making Los Angeles Completely Water Self-Sufficient Won’t Be Easy Or Cheap. But It Can Be Done

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Mark Gold

Despite another hot and dry year with less than four inches of rain in the Los Angeles area, we are back to our water-wasting ways. Two years ago, Californians were using 24% less water compared with 2013. This year, we’re hardly conserving at all — just 1%. Clearly, our earlier successes were more behavioral than structural. If lawn removal and new efficient fixtures and appliances had saved all that water, we wouldn’t be seeing this momentous backslide.

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Biggest Storm Of The Season Could Bring More Devastation To California Burn Areas

/in /by /Los Angeles Timesby Joseph Serna

An atmospheric river that forecasters are billing as the biggest storm of the season is expected to drench Southern California beginning Tuesday night and will bring with it the potential for mud flows and widespread flooding, the National Weather Service said. The storm, which is fueled by warm, western Pacific waters, will deliver nonstop rain across much of California and provide some relief to areas that have seen a resurgence in drought conditions.

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