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California is Now Practically Drought-free, But We Keep Wasting So Much Rainwater

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Grace Toohey

Almost all of California is finally drought-free, after Tropical Storm Hilary’s rare summer drenching added to this winter’s record-setting rainfall totals. But despite all that drought-busting precipitation, California continues to capture only a percentage of that water. Much of the abundance in rain from Hilary ended up running off into the ocean — not captured or stored for future use, when California will inevitably face its next drought.

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Santa Monica Uses Innovative Water Recycling Facility to Capture and Store Rainwater

/in , /by /Santa Monica Mirror

Santa Monica has been using a pioneering water recycling facility since November to capture rain and store it underground for future use. As Southern California has been experiencing seemingly constant rainfall, the city has been capturing stormwater, urban runoff, and municipal wastewater and purifying it for potable reuse. This first-of-its-kind facility is located beneath a parking lot and features a 1.5-million-gallon stormwater harvesting tank and a one-million-gallon-per-day advanced water treatment facility. The recycled water can be used for irrigation, toilet flushing in buildings that have dual plumbing, and to recharge groundwater aquifers.

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North County Water Agencies Offers Low‐Cost Rain Barrels to Help Customers Save Water

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

To encourage water conservation as drought conditions persist, Carlsbad Municipal Water District, Olivenhain Municipal Water District, San Dieguito Water District, and Santa Fe Irrigation District have partnered to offer discounted rain barrels to area residents this fall. Collecting rainwater for future use not only can save drinking water and money, but also reduces irrigation runoff that can carry pollutants into local waterways and beaches.

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Why Aren’t We Collecting Rainwater? Don’t Worry — Smart People Are Working On It

/in , , /by /NBC Los Angelesby Patrick Healy

Every time it rains, Angelenos might be thinking: are we saving any of that rain water?

Thursday’s storm brought some much needed rainfall, but with a burgeoning drought, many Southern California residents are wondering if we benefitted at all.

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Capture Rain-Drought-Rain Barrels-Rebates

Make the Most of Rainfall

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On the rare and welcome occasions when San Diego County gets rainfall, the water runoff from hard surfaces around the home such as roofs and patios should be re-directed to your permeable landscaping. By capturing as much rainwater as possible in the soil, it is possible to build an ecosystem that can last through the summer months with minimal additional irrigation.

Approach your landscaping as a living sponge, holding water until it is needed. If more rain falls than can be absorbed, or if the soil is particularly impermeable, rainwater can be directed through landscaped areas to remove pollutants before it flows into storm drains and heads downstream.

Adjust for rainwater capture

Assess the areas where rainfall runs off hard surfaces to set up capturing tools. Photo: Rambold Heiner / Pixabay

Assess the areas where rainfall runs off hard surfaces to set up capturing tools. Photo: Rambold Heiner / Pixabay

Capture rainfall in three steps. First, check your roof to determine where precipitation is directed after it hits the surface.  Does it fall into rain gutters, off the edge, or elsewhere? Second, choose how and where to hold excess rainwater based on this assessment. Finally, consider making upgrades like adding rain barrels or making changes in your landscaping. For instance, landscaping soil may need amendments to hold more water.

Is your soil more like a brick?

If your soil is more like a brick as with clay soils common in San Diego County, it will affect how landscaping is contoured to capture water. Adding soil amendments will help it become more like a sponge that retains water for drier weeks and month. If the soil doesn’t drain well, take special care to avoid drowning new plants.

When choosing landscaping plants, match them to the soil type. If the soil is sandy, look for plants with “dry feet” that prefer free-draining soil, If the soil is harder clay, look for plants that do not mind heavy soil.

Optimal landscape soil can capture rainwater and allow it to soak in completely in 24 to 48 hours.

Do your part to stay WaterSmart

Many homeowners also use rain barrels to capture rainfall before it reaches the ground so it can be released during dry times.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District has partnered with the San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, and Carlsbad Municipal Water District to offer discounted rain barrels to area residents this winter.

Rain barrels ordered by January 31, 2022 will be available for pick up at Solana Center for Environmental Innovation located at 137 North El Camino Real in Encinitas.

Fifty-gallon barrels are on sale for $97, with a final cost of $62 after a $35 rebate from water wholesaler Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Rebates on rain barrels and other water-saving measures are available at www.socalwatersmart.com.

For more information about rain barrels, and other conservation tips and rebates to create a WaterSmart home and garden, go to WaterSmartSD.org.

This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

(Editor’s note: The Olivenhain Municipal Water District, the San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District and the City of Carlsbad, are four of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Slow It, Spread It, Sink It: Harvesting Rainwater in Your Garden Helps With Drought Recovery

/in , , /by /Recordnet.comby Kathy Grant

The rainy season can be a mixed blessing.

If your home garden landscape is well designed to maximize rainwater storage, then rain is a blessing. If your landscape is poorly designed, or has too much impervious surfaces, then rain can be a curse.

Whatever your situation, however, take heart! Small adjustments can be made to prepare for the next storm, though some projects will take longer and require work done in the dry season.

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Native plant-sustainability-garden-landscapetracting pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies. Image: Water Authority plant installation

Setting Objectives for Waterwise Landscaping Success

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It takes time to learn about the concepts behind the watershed approach to creating a healthy and sustainable landscape. Once you have these concepts mastered, the most important step of all comes next.  Consider the goals you want to achieve in your garden for landscaping success.

It might be difficult to know where to start. Many people accept an ocean of green but thirsty lawn and never give much thought to landscaping goals. Consider one of these worthy objectives.

Waving goodbye to grass

Most native Southern California plants do well in hotter temperatures, so summer plant care is easy with a little planning. Photo: Annie Spratt/Pixabay

Most native Southern California plants do well in hotter temperatures, so summer plant care is easy with a little planning. Photo: Annie Spratt/Pixabay

  • Removing a thirsty lawn without using any chemicals, in a way that preserves the healthy soil microbes
  • Planting local California native plants that will attract birds, butterflies, and bees for pollination
  • Creating a child or pet-friendly garden without thorns or sticky grass seed heads
  • Planting fruit trees, edible vines, and shrubs, or vegetable gardens

Using irrigation efficiently

Well designed and operated irrigation systems can reliably deliver the water your landscaping needs without waste or excess. Photo: AxxLC/Pixabay

Well designed and operated irrigation systems can reliably deliver the water your landscaping needs without waste or excess. Photo: AxxLC/Pixabay

Building healthy living soil that will act like a sponge, even if it rains a lot

Capturing all the rainwater from the roof and re-routing downspouts to fill rain barrels instead of running onto hardscaping

Converting spray irrigation to micro or drip irrigation, with the intention of turning it off after establishing your waterwise landscaping

Making pathways and driveways more permeable

Making your landscaping an art project

San Marcos resident Jeff Moore's landscape makeover won recognition in the 2018 Landscape Makeover Contest. Photo: Water Authority

San Marcos resident Jeff Moore’s landscape makeover including artistic touches won recognition in the 2018 Landscape Makeover Contest. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Making room for a small patio with room for an outdoor table or seating

Adding pathways, Zen gardens, and interesting materials and patterns

Integrating beautiful objects such as an art piece, interesting container collection, or items like sundials

One goal we can all support: creating a beautiful sustainable landscape that reduces your water use by 70 percent or more. We can all agree on this definition of landscaping success no matter your individual goals.

This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

A Desert City Tries to Save Itself with Rain

/in , , /by /Bloomberg CityLabby Chris Malloy

In an average year, Brad Lancaster can harvest enough rain to meet 95% of his water needs. Roof runoff collected in tanks on his modest lot in Tucson, Arizona — where 100 degree days are common in the summer months — provides what he needs to bathe, cook and drink.

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City College Prof Collects Rainwater On Mt. Helix

/in , /by /San Diego Readerby Dryw Keltz

Chris Baron purchased a home on Mt. Helix in 2007. The house sat on a half-acre of land, so he would have a rather large canvas to work with when it came to landscaping. He had some native plants early on and eventually bought some fruit trees. He wanted to plant more trees, but watering was expensive. To make matters worse, the state was in the midst of the 2012-2017 drought. In order to increase his orchard, he would have to think creatively. With the help of a friend who had some experience, he stepped into the soggy realm of rainwater collection.

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California Wastes So Much Of Its Rainwater. Here’s Why

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hannah Fry and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

California’s wet winter has dumped an estimated 18 trillion gallons of rain in February alone. But much of it is simply going down the drain. In what has become a source of much concern in a state prone to droughts and water shortages, the vast majority of rainwater in urban areas flows into storm drains and is eventually lost to the Pacific Ocean.

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