To ensure a successful water-saving landscape, pick your plants for each water-use category to ensure you meet your water-conservation goals. Focus on local native plants or plants from similar climate regions.
Once you’ve chosen your plant types, there are additional important considerations.
A rare triple-dip La Niña is looking increasingly likely for the Northern Hemisphere. The latest outlook by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, released Thursday, indicates there’s a 62% to 66% chance the current La Niña climate condition will persist through fall and early winter.
If that happens, it’ll be the third La Niña winter in a row – a rare phenomenon we’ve only seen twice since 1950. A third consecutive La Niña year would likely have a major impact on California.
California’s historic drought may leave the state with the largest amount of empty farmland in recent memory as farmers face unprecedented cuts to crucial water supplies.
The size of fields intended for almonds, rice, wine grapes and other crops left unworked could be around 800,000 acres, double the size of last year and the most in at least several decades, said Josue Medellin-Azuara, an associate professor at University of California Merced.
When it comes to slaking Southern California’s colossal thirst for water, more and more local governments are searching their own sewer lines for a solution.
In the face of dire drought, cities and water agencies are now investing heavily in large-scale wastewater recycling facilities — systems that will purify the billions of gallons of treated sewage that are currently flushed out to sea.
Damon Ayala patrols the streets of drought-stricken Los Angeles every day, inspecting the sidewalks. Each time he sees a puddle, he stops.
As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, electric vehicles are becoming more ubiquitous. But despite their environmental benefits, they still have a price. The batteries that power them rely on a limited resource: lithium.
But some say California’s so-called “Lithium Valley” could be a vast powerhouse for the next century’s battery needs. A team of scientists is planning to map out deep-earth lithium to see if it can sustainably supply America’s insatiable demand for the element.
The Marin Municipal Water District took a deeper look at some of the more complex and expensive options on the table for new supply: desalination plants and recycled water.
The district board and consultants with the Jacobs Engineering firm held discussion Tuesday on the preliminary cost estimates, water yields and challenges of building desalination plants and expanding the district’s recycled water system.
Once you’ve finalized your landscaping plans, you’ll have some demolition work ahead of you, including the existing turf you plan to remove or replace. Removing turf presents choices about the best way to accomplish this task. Learn more about turf removal options and understand the steps before you begin.
Reclaiming an area of unwanted turf requires diligence. No matter what method of turf removal is used, plan on routine maintenance, including weeding or herbicide application, as often as every two weeks for the first three months after your take your turf out. Some tenacious warm-season grasses might give you a battle for even longer.
Natural turf removal. A natural way to remove turf and preserve the soil’s ecology is to strip the turf and water the area for the next two weeks to encourage grass to re-sprout and hand pull all new growth.
Sheet mulching. Rather than removing turf and taking it to the landfill, you can compost it in place. First, remove several inches of turf and soil from the edges near your hardscape. Wet the turf area and cover it with several layers of newspaper. Water again and cover with cardboard. Water again and cover with three inches of shredded mulch.
If you can invest the time, allow several months for the soil microbes to decompose the turf and turn it into friable soil for plants.
Solarization. Another alternative is solarization. This works best in the spring or summer. Turf areas are covered with rolls of plastic. Sun exposure heats the soil and kills the turf and weed seeds. The cover must be airtight with no holes and left in place for six to eight weeks. However, this method will also kill beneficial soil microbes. Using this method, you must follow up and apply compost or other soil amendments to restore the soil’s healthy biology.
Turf removal with herbicide. If you choose to use an herbicide, consult with your local landscape supply store and read the manufacturers’ label for best use practices and safety considerations. Since Bermuda grass and some other grasses are dormant in the winter, they must be treated when actively growing in the remainder of the year (May to October).
Grading. When the turf is removed, you need to grade your property. Set the soil level to direct water away from the house. To help slow down water runoff from your garden, try creating small depressions away from structures, walls, or paving where water is allowed to pool and slowly percolate into the soil. The more you slow the water down or hold it on site, the more you improve water quality in your area and downstream at local beaches.
Reduce runoff. Runoff carries with it soil particles and pollutants. Reduce runoff by using mulch.
Remove your old turf in a way that preserves valuable soil microbes. Photo: Anna Shvets / Pexels
Now that you have removed unwanted turf and other plants, it is time to condition your soil.
Soil amendments should be selected based on your soil analysis recommendations. Till them into the top layer of soil. Compost (15-30% by volume), gypsum, and fertilizer are typical amendments in arid climates like San Diego County.
The goal is to achieve healthy soil containing microbes which feed plants, improve drainage, and increase the natural water holding capacity of the soil.
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(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies offer programs, resources, and incentives to improve water-use efficiency for residential, commercial, and agricultural users. WaterSmart choices are a way of life in the region. Stay WaterSmart San Diego! For more water-use efficiency resources, go to WaterSmart.SD.org.)
All Californians play a role in preserving and enhancing our water supplies for a drought-resilient future. California again is in a familiar state of drought, although not all communities are affected equally. Some regions are in extreme water shortage; others are not. We must address these differences. That starts with all Californians understanding where their water comes from and what they can do to use it wisely.
The Colorado River is approaching a breaking point, its reservoirs depleted and western states under pressure to drastically cut water use.
It’s a crisis that scientists have long warned was coming. Years before the current shortage, scientists repeatedly alerted public officials who manage water supplies that the chronic overuse of the river combined with the effects of climate change would likely drain the Colorado’s reservoirs to dangerously low levels.
