CA Drought - Emergency Regulations and How to Cut Back

The gardens in the Bay Area are steadily turning brown since the California emergency regulations went into effect on July 29th, 2014. These restrictions specifically target outdoor water use in urban areas. The following activities are punishable by a fine of up to $500 per day for each day of violation:

• The application of potable water to any driveway or sidewalk.
• Using potable water to water outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes runoff to adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots or structures.
• Using a hose that dispenses potable water to wash a motor vehicle, unless the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle.
• Using potable water in a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is recirculated. Recycled water is not mandated, but encouraged for fountain use.

In case you're wondering, the definition of "potable water" is "safe to drink". For us city dwellers, that means anything that comes out of the tap, faucet or spigot.
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/publications_forms/publications/factsheets/docs/fs072914manwaterreg.pdf

Individual cities and water suppliers may have additional restrictions. For example, City of Hayward also prohibits "excessive use of water due to defective or broken plumbing or irrigation system", and "strongly" encourages residents to:

• Limit irrigation to two days per week
• Irrigate in the early morning and evening hours (between 7 pm and 7 am) to reduce evaporation
• Install water-saving fixtures and appliances
• Ensure full loads in dishwashers and clothes washing machines

Residents are encouraged to report offenders by calling a hotline number or sending an email.

Putting the nasty politics aside - the disparities between urban vs. agriculture, north vs. south, climate change vs. cycle - I maintain the only way we (humanity) are going to make it through these changing times is to nurture the urban ecosystem. Trees and plants clean the air of particulates, absorb noise pollution, and reduce the effects of the urban heat island. Making urban areas livable discourages urban sprawl.

While green lawns make me cringe, I am equally appalled by the weed infested, bare dirt springing up in our neighborhoods. It reminds me of the height of the foreclosure crisis - but these homes are not vacant.

The soil is dead. 

This yard has not seen one drop of water all summer.

The slightest breath of wind casts a fine layer of dust across neighboring gardens, choking both plants and people alike.


It will take tremendous effort - and expense - to revitalize this garden now that the soil is dead.

How to Cut Back and Have a Garden

Water LESS, but don't stop! Plants and the soil need water to stay healthy. Okay, there are some plants that do not need summer water, but without that dribble, the microbes and worms in the soil die, the top soil blows away, and you're left with dirt that won't grow anything - except tumbleweeds.  

Like the Rose Lady says, "the roses look like shit, because I dropped the drip to a trickle, but the root ball will stay alive." 

Looks pretty good to me!

Irrigation: We started putting in a drip system last year, and oh what a difference! Aside from not having to spend hours each week hauling hoses, it is so much more effective - and consumes less water.

You can direct the water to pots, dribble on trees, and use sprayers and bubblers for the plants.

It took some effort. (My husband researched and did the design.)

The side is on a timer, in a hand-crafted covered box to protect it from the elements, and the back is manual.

Grey Water: Just this morning I complimented a gardener in Niles Canyon after mooning over this parking strip beauty. Her response was, "I'm keeping is alive one bucket at a time". 

I would too, except my bucket isn't big enough so the laundry machine thinks it's overflowing and doesn't drain the cycle. (Yes, a new bucket is on the list.)

You'd think the government types would be more supportive of recycling household grey water, but they are not. It is very difficult to get a permit for a residential household grey water system, and I've yet to see a City website that recommends bucket hauling for irrigation.

The problem is disease control. Towels used in the kitchen and bathroom collect fecal particulates, bacteria, and/or protozoas that [literally] come out in the wash. Instead of going down the drain to a treatment plant and massive doses of chlorine, these contaminants remain viable in untreated grey water.

Please do not use grey water on plants used for growing food! 

Other Ways to Conserve - Not on Government Websites

There are a few other things you can do to use less water in the house, and have more for the plants and bird bath. 

Cistern: We hooked up a 50 gallon cistern to a gutter downspout back in Spring to capture what little rain may come. It's not a lot of water, but it's not going down the drain to the bay. 

If you get a cistern, make certain to get mosquito pellets, or you may be growing a flock of blood suckers with your plants. 

Flushing: I recently read an article in the Rossmoor Newsletter that proudly announced one resident is flushing only once a day. While truly noble, I can't help but get totally grossed-out thinking about what that 70-plus year old woman's toilet looks and smells like. Personally, I flush every 3rd pee, and always number two.

Showers:  We put a clock in the shower with a timer and established a 10 minute shower per day rule - which I regularly violate, but I certainly no longer linger for 20+ minutes. 

Military showers work great when sudsing and shaving. Just shut the water off until ready to rinse.

Sponge baths work when you get dirty in the garden, but already had The Shower for the day.

I know some folks bring a bucket in the shower to collect the grey water, but I'd probably kill myself tripping on it.

At the Sink: I've been turning the water off when I brush my teeth for 45 years, since my first drought. When hand washing dishes, suds, then turn the water on to rinse.

On a Final Note, or Tweet

This morning I stepped into the garden, and almost immediately the chickadees and nuthatches started calling. The bird bath was dry. Minutes after refilling the basin, the birds descended to drink and bathe, chittering and splashing, just feet away from me.

We share this planet with other creatures. It takes so little to help them, and it will fill your life with joy.

Got any other ideas? Please share...

The Drought in California

The Drought in California is very bad - driest year on record for many areas:
http://www.acwa.com/content/local-drought-response

The impact is hard to imagine, even for those who live in California. I was shocked to see the bottom of the San Leandro Reservoir a couple of weeks ago - even after seeing these Before and After photos that were published in January:
http://www.weather.com/news/stunning-photos-californias-lakes-depleted-extreme-drought-20140123?pageno=1

Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in January, and at that time, asked residents to voluntarily cut back water consumption by 20%:
http://www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/declaration.cfm

The response was spotty; some districts reduced consumption while others increased:
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25090363/california-drought-water-use-varies-widely-around-state

Overall, usage went down about 1% - not enough. So mid-July, the state approved $500-a-day fines for hosing down sidewalks, watering to the point of runoff, or washing your car without a shutoff nozzle.

The water supply system is a convoluted mess. The result is dramatically different conservation measures depending on where you live, even for neighboring communities. For example, EBMUD (East Bay Municipal Utility District) supplies all the cities in the East Bay:
http://www.watereducation.org/general-information/other-major-water-systems

But each municipality contracts service from one of hundreds of different suppliers:

http://library.ucr.edu/wrca/grants/districts.html

Alameda County Water District notified Fremont, Union City, and Newark businesses and residents of mandatory restrictions - with fines - back in March:
http://www.acwd.org/

While just north of Fremont, the City of Hayward is still on voluntary conservation until August 1st. Our water is purchased from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission:
http://www.hayward-ca.gov/GREEN-HAYWARD/WATER-CONSERVATION/

Many refer to "the drought" in terms of this year, or the cumulative impact over the past 3 years:

http://blogs.kqed.org/lowdown/2014/03/18/into-the-drought-californias-shrinking-reservoirs/

But the data point to this particular downward trend starting in 1998 - right after the last big El Nino event:

http://ca.water.usgs.gov/data/drought/runoff.html

I say "particular", because historically, California has experienced droughts that last hundreds of years (credit to M. Tsui).

Regardless of the debate over climate change and global warming, the dramatic increase in population over the past 100 years means we have to use our resources wisely. Humans can live without food for 46 to 73 days, but we will die in 3 to 5 days without water.

Of course in California, it's all very political:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/15/5309350/california-25-billion-plan-to-save-delta

Some sources estimate that agriculture uses 80% of the water supply:

http://pacinst.org/publication/ca-water-supply-solutions/

So the question is: how much is 20% of 20% really going to help, especially in light of the long-term trend?  

Personally, I don't think the politics warrant letting a water-wise garden die. We need plants and trees to process our emissions and pollutants, and hold the soil against wind and rain - especially after a fire. Native plants use less water than lawn, and hold moisture in the soil to support an entire community.  

Green lawns in California happen in spring. It's called a "meadow".  A green lawn in August is an un-natural occurrence that demands copious amounts of water and chemical fertilizer poisoning our ground water, streams, and ocean while stealing valuable real estate from the native plants that provide much needed food and shelter to birds, butterflies, bees, lizards, frogs, etc.

We started replacing our lawn, bit by bit, 10 years ago, when the last drought kicked our ass.

Ironically, the most generously funded Lawn Be Gone programs seem to be sponsored by the most affluent communities:

http://www.menlopark.org/332/Lawn-Be-Gone-Program

But you really don't have to "landscape" all at once. Wildflowers are a time honored tradition to brown dirt in my neighborhood - and they come back year after year! I like Renee's scatter gardens:
http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/scattercans.html

Save the World!  Grow Flowers!