Presentations: KYH2O and Matilija Dam

Two recent presentations are now available for online viewing:

Why (Fresh) Water is Important to Surfers
November 21, 2013 - Channel Islands Maritime Museum.
This presentation describes the Ventura River watershed and Surfrider's "Know Your H2O" approach to solving the ongoing water management crisis.






Matilija Dam: Taking Another Look (A Brief History and Update)
March 22, 2014: Salmonid Restoration Federation Conference, Santa Barbara, CA
A summary of  the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration project and update on the 2014 special studies.




Matilija Dam: Taking Another Look (A Brief History and Update) from Salmonid Restoration Federation on Vimeo.

Running Dry

Cover article in the Oct 10, 2013 issue of the Ventura County Reporter is titled "Running Dry - Ventura County has a water problem."   Writer Art Van Kraft takes a high level overview of some of the issues affecting local water management, and says, "Conservation advocates warn of imminent depletion of water resources."  He profiles the efforts of the Surfrider Foundation to alert residents to the 'cycle of insanity'  and quotes Mike Solomon, general manager of United Water Conservation District; "We are taking 30,000 acre feet more water out of the ground than we're putting in and that's not sustainable."  United supplies water in the Oxnard Plain where this overdraft threatens aquifers with sea water intrusion.

The article examines water conservation and Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Gardens partnership with the City of Ventura. 'Lawn killer' Lisa Burton describes how her garden designs eliminate water waste, saying "Lawns start to look really boring and sort of silly; so does the water bill." And Diane Underhill says straight out, "We need to stop approving future development projects."

Read more here:  Running Dry - VC Reporter

Eye on the Environment - Ocean Friendly Gardens & KYH2O

Eye on the Environment - How to Make Your Gardens Ocean Friendly

Published in the VC Star August 11, 2013
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/aug/10/how-to-make-your-gardens-ocean-friendly/


How would you like a big group of surfers to help you give CPR to your garden? The Ventura County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation can help you create an Ocean Friendly Garden by applying the principles of CPR, which stands for Conservation Permeability and Retention.

Today is the last day of the Ventura County Fair, where the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has an actual Ocean Friendly Garden on display in the Floriculture Pavilion. If you miss it today, you still have many more opportunities to learn these principles. These landscapes merit the Surfrider-trademarked term “Ocean Friendly Garden” because they conserve water, native habitat and energy with local and edible plants; create permeable soil and hard surfaces to absorb and filter polluted runoff; and retain rainwater to irrigate plants, replenish creeks and groundwater, and prevent flooding downstream.

Surfrider volunteers recently re-landscaped a yard in Ventura’s midtown area to make it an Ocean Friendly Garden. They removed the lawn, then “sheet mulched” (smothered) the remaining roots. Rainwater from the roof was redirected into dry streambeds planted with climate appropriate plants plus mulch to slow, spread and sink the rainwater.

The project also created cuts in the curbs of the parkway (area between street and sidewalk) to absorb street runoff. The City has created a no-cost curb-cutting permit that makes it possible to re-do our planted parkways to capture the majority of street runoff for a fraction of the cost of a more engineered solution.

OFG is part of Surfrider’s larger program to “Know Your H2O,” which is described in our video titled “Cycle of Insanity.” While new development must apply CPR-type requirements, existing developments do not. It seems insane to channel all rainfall into storm drains that deliver polluted runoff directly to our rivers and coasts, wasting water that could be directed into our over-pumped aquifers and waterways. It also seems insane to discharge millions of gallons of highly treated wastewater (from sinks, showers, washing machines and toilets) into the ocean every day. From the dry Ventura River to the flooded McGrath State Beach Park, to the east county cities that import water from northern California, Ventura County has many signs that our management of water can be improved.

For example, while about half the water consumed within the city of Ventura is used on landscapes, the rest is used just once in our homes before we send it to the ‘wastewater’ treatment plant.  There it is treated and pumped into the Santa Clara River estuary, contributing to the flooding problem at McGrath State Beach.  One solution may be recycling this wastewater, which could not only enhance water supply but also reduce impacts on our drying rivers.  Ventura and other facilities in the County, such as the Moorpark Wastewater Treatment Plant, already sell recycled water for use on golf courses.  In Orange County reclaimed water is pumped into the ground to counteract the saltwater intrusion that is also a problem in our aquifers. And as technologies advance, direct potable reuse (for drinking) will become the norm.

Although individual citizens have little control over infrastructure, the solution begins at home.  This is why Surfrider's “Ocean Friendly Gardens” program is catching on throughout the region. Surfrider, City staff and trained professionals have helped many local homeowners improve their gardens as well as assisted with several municipal projects in the City of Ventura.

Surfrider volunteers may not be able to help everyone. So keep your eye on the environment at free classes on Ocean Friendly Gardens, sponsored by the City of Ventura and Aqua-Flo irrigation supply store, starting in September. Check out Surfrider events and see if your local chapter is able to assist you. Also, look at the gardens on the Ocean Friendly Garden map, and start evaluating your garden and making changes – or hire a professional who applies CPR.

On the web:
Calendar - http://ofgvc.wordpress.com/
Video - http://surfrider.org/programs/entry/know-your-h2o
Map – www.oceanfriendlygardens.org
Chapter - http://www.venturariver.org
City - www.cityofventura.net/water/landscape

Also published in the VCReporter:  http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/?id=11195

Paul Jenkin is the Surfrider Foundation’sVentura Campaign Coordinator, and
Paul Herzog is the Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Gardens Coordinator

OFG at Ventura County Fair

The Ventura Chapter's Ocean Friendly Gardens crew's hard work paid off again!

Their display at the Ventura County Fair is an award winner!

The Chapter's 'OFG' committee saw a display at the annual fair's 'Home and Gardens' section as a way to provide an example, and not just handouts, of the simplicity, beauty and savings of Ocean Friendly Gardens.  The design on the exterior of one of the Fairgrounds buildings utilized the existing downspout: it looks like it was meant to be there!

The Fair started on Wednesday, and chapter volunteers will be on site during the next two weekends to explain Ocean Friendly Gardens to the thousands of visitors that will pass by the exhibit. During the week, there's a box in which ofg brochures are available for the taking, and there's a flipbook describing the display's elements.

The best part - the display utilized re-purposed or reclaimed materials so that the entire project cost only $8!

Mid Town Ventura - Know Your H2O

Last week I was the guest speaker at the Midtown Community Council.  The midtown community has taken the lead on neighborhood Ocean Friendly Gardens and Green Streets retrofits to address stormwater runoff from this urban area, so this was a welcome opportunity to provide insight on how local actions fit into the 'big picture.'

The Water Cycle has become the 'Cycle of Insanity'

Surfrider's 'Cycle of Insanity - the Real Story of Water' video illustrates how the water cycle, upon which we all depend, has been modified in so many ways that it has become a 'Cycle of Insanity.'  We have developed our urban areas to channel rainfall into storm drains that deliver polluted runoff directly to our rivers and coasts, wasting water that could be directed into our over-pumped aquifers.  Millions of gallons of treated wastewater is being discharged into the ocean - where desalinization plants are being proposed to pump that water back out of the ocean to remove the salt and sell it as a new water supply.  All of this wastes precious fresh water AND energy, further exacerbating the impacts of climate change.

In the Ventura region the signs of stress are evident - but not always seen as connected.  

Ventura River at Foster Park - July 2013

Flooding at McGrath State Beach

Problem:  The Ventura river is dry at Foster Park while McGrath State Beach is flooded - how can this be?

This is where it helps to

 Know Your H2O - where does your water come from, and where does it go?   

Know Your H2O: simplified schematic of where Ventura water comes from and where it goes

From this simplified schematic we can see that about half the city's water supply comes from the Ventura River.  The wells at Foster Park provide about 25% of the city's water, and there is a high demand from this good quality source which is used to dilute the poor groundwater from east side wells. 

About half of the total water used in the city is discharged as wastewater into the Santa Clara River estuary.   So while it may seem 'natural' to discharge treated water into the estuary, much of it does not even originate from the Santa Clara River watershed. In dry years (like this) when the sand berm does not breach and drain the estuary into the ocean, that 9 million gallons a day keeps accumulating, often flooding the state beach.  Artificial breaches have resulted in fish kills, so solutions to the flooding problem have been hard to reach.  

These supply and demand numbers are taken from the city's recent 2013 Final Comprehensive Water Resources Report.  It is evident from this graph that if 'new' sources of water are not found the city will outgrow its water supply  in the near future.  (Indeed, we may already be there, as another year of drought will spell trouble.)

Solutions:  The red arrow shows that the potential for recycled water in Ventura is close to 50% of demand.  (Of course the actual volume would be less than this depending on treatment and reuse options, but this demonstrates the overall magnitude.) Therefore water recycling would provide an opportunity to reduce the flooding problem at McGrath as well as offset demand to reduce pressure on the supplies.  (i.e. an 'integrated solution')  The City of Ventura is currently investigating recycling opportunities and in the short term installing a system for controlled pumping of the estuary into the ocean.

Urban Runoff and Ocean Friendly Gardens:

Map of the urban watershed draining into Pierpont Bay, Ventura, CA

Another symptom of the Cycle of Insanity in Ventura is urban runoff.  Surfrider has studied the downtown/midtown areas and mapped the underground storm drains.  This infrastructure effectively directly connects to the ocean almost every gutter downspout, driveway, street, and parking lot in the area.  The 'impervious' landscape turns even the smallest rainfall into runoff.

Problem: Within the Midtown area (Prince/Sanjon drainage) high runoff volumes flood Sanjon Road and pollute the beaches every time it rains.

While individual citizens often have little control over this infrastructure, the solution begins at home.  This is why Surfrider's 'Ocean Friendly Gardens' program is catching on throughout the region.

 Last year's Ocean Friendly Garden project in the Midtown area not only installed a residential garden, but also included the first 'curb cut' in Ventura.

Midtown Ocean Friendly Garden with 'curb cut'

The 'curb cut' expands the effectiveness of Ocean Friendly Gardens into the public right-of-way, directing runoff from the street into the median where it is infiltrated into the soil.  Any excess water that cannot be absorbed is filtered and released back into the street.

Green Streets are designed to capture runoff before it enters the storm drains

Although the City of Ventura has been slowly retrofitting some of the urban area and planning to implement a 'green streets' demonstration project, budget cuts recently forced the city council to reverse its 2008 'green streets' policy which funds these projects.

Solutions: A less costly community-based green streets approach may be to install curb-cut bioswales along an entire city block.  This would capture the majority of runoff before it enters the storm drain and ends up on the beach for a fraction of the cost of an engineered green street demonstration project.  This may soon become a reality in Midtown Ventura if a 'block party' can be organized!

Do you   KNOW YOUR H2O?

Surfrider's Know Your H2O campaign aims to educate communities about water management issues that affect the health of our watersheds, coast and ocean.  Taking the time to learn where your water comes from, and where it goes when it leaves your home is a first step. Once we understand the problems, and can see how to solve them, we can take action to make basic changes.  In this way a new philosophy of water management starts at home and spreads throughout our communities.

The first step is to understand what the problems are

Developing a common vision for a restored water cycle is essential
 to community-based  action

Actionable solutions like Ocean Friendly Gardens empower communities
 to make the changes required to protect our water for the future

Know Your H2O can be implemented within many
 scales and jurisdictions within a watershed

More info:

Watch the video: Cycle of Insanity - the Real Story of Water

Ocean Friendly Gardens: www.oceanfriendlygardens.org

Ventura Water Supply:  http://www.cityofventura.net/water/supply

Patagonia Bioswale/Parking Lot Retrofit

On this blog:

http://www.venturariver.org/search/label/H2O

http://www.venturariver.org/search/label/wastewater

Estuary breach kills fish
Urban Watershed Planning - Ventura CA
Ventura Adopts "Green Streets" Policy
Ventura Curb Cut

Surfers' Point workdays

Saturday December 8, 2012

Over 70 volunteers plus a dozen organizers spent the morning working on the dune area at Surfers' Point.  The large crew made quick work of cleaning, seeding, and planting the 4 acre area.  The workday was coordinated by the City of Ventura in partnership with the Ventura County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, and attracted Surfrider members and families from the community.  

The City of Ventura has been preparing the area for several months.  In April, sand was delivered to the project area from Pierpont Beach where the large accumulation was inundating beachfront homes.  (see Surfers Point - sand dunes)

A dune restoration plan was prepared by a consultant team to coordinate the multiple stakeholder interests and ensure ecological goals are met.  Sand that was initially delivered in longitudinal rows was re-graded with machinery over the past few weeks to form more natural 'hummock' dunes, create a buffer zone along the bike path, and provide designated 'recreation areas.'  

Because some of the imported sand contained unnatural concrete and other debris, the first crew of volunteers went to work cleaning the dunes with rakes and special mechanical 'sifters.'  It's amazing how much area a large crew can cover in an hour or two!

 As volunteers completed the debris removal, they were given tools to weed areas where non-native plants were beginning to sprout from the recent rains.  Catching these sprouts early will make a big difference later in the spring when we return to remove weeds.

While the cleanup and weeding was happening, another work group was systematically distributing native plant seeds under the direction of restoration consultant Dave Hubbard.  The seed was custom mixed for different areas of the project, mixed with some dry sand and scattered evenly within a designated area.  The area was then raked to further distribute and bury the seeds.  These seeds will be futher stabilized this week through the application of straw which will be 'crimped' into the dunes by a contractor.

Surf Brewery's Bill Riegler applies seed 

to the Surfers' Point dune restoration area.

Finally, hundreds of plants arrived from our local Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens 'plant parents' who have been caring for them since seeds were collected from the site last year (Surfers' Point workday.)    Volunteers spent another couple of hours planting these along the bike path and filling in areas in the bioswale.

picks were needed to break up the hard soil for planting in the bioswale

On Friday Patagonia volunteers will install barrier fencing and signs to help direct traffic through the dunes to allow for plants to establish and stabilize the new sand dunes.

Thanks to VolunteerVentura, the Ventura County Fairgrounds, and our sponsors!  The Surfrider Foundation purchased seed and refreshments for this restoration project with support from the Surf Brewery, Amgen, and Patagonia.  Please help support the Surf Brewery by asking for their local brews at your favorite eatery or visiting the tasting room on Market St in Ventura:  http://surfbrewery.com/




In the news: 

Volunteers to restore Surfers Point dunes this weekend in Ventura - VCStar

Unique Project To Deal With Erosion At Popular South Coast Beach At Halfway Point - KCLU

Our Ventura TV program included interviews at the workday event

Handcrafted sand dunes require community efforts to reach their full potential
Outdoor Observer -  VC Star


Related:

As the Oceans Rise Up, What Must Come Down? - KCRW

Ventura Curb Cut

On Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, the Ventura Ocean Friendly Gardens team returned to the recently completed garden to take it one step further: the first residential 'curb cut' in Ventura.

Ocean Friendly Gardens apply the concepts of Conservation, Permeability, and Retention to convert a residential landscape from one that sheds water and contributes to runoff and ocean pollution to a climate appropriate garden that captures and infiltrates rainwater on site.


What is a 'curb cut?'  and why?

In cases where a public 'parkway' exists between the sidewalk and the street, cutting a notch in the curb allows rainwater to enter the parkway where it can be absorbed and cleansed.  This captures urban runoff before it reaches the storm drain.


The curb cut design was created by the Green Gardens Group (G3), a watershed-friendly design group who have been working with Surfrider and the City of Ventura (as well as other municipalities in Southern California) to provide professional training and design/oversight for Ocean Friendly Gardens.




Volunteers worked to dig out the parkway and transform the hard-packed grass into a permeable bioswale.

A 'french drain' was laid in a bed of gravel to ensure drainage once the soil becomes saturated.

Once the curb was cut and drainage installed, the parkway was planted and mulched.  The end result is a beautiful native landscape that captures and absorbs runoff from the street.  If the 'upstream' neighbor is washing a car, it waters the plants rather than pollutes the ocean. In heavy rains, excess water will re-enter the street on the downstream end of each bioswale, which will have removed most of the pollutants (car oil, fertilizers, trash, etc)

A series of projects like these installed the length of the street would effectively capture the 'first flush' runoff, which contains the majority of pollutants, and reduce the total volume of water entering the storm drain system.  In order to make this possible, the City of Ventura will soon be offering a standard design, no-cost permit for all City residents, a first in the nation!

Many thanks to all those who made this demonstration project possible, including the City of Ventura, Green Gardens Group, Paul Herzog and all the Surfrider Foundation volunteers who donated their sweat to help lead the way in solving the urban runoff problem!

This residence is the site of the recent Ventura Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG) retrofit, funded by a State grant (Whale Tail License Plate Program). Turf grass was removed and the site was sheet mulched (smothered with compost, paper and mulch). Rain gutter downspouts were redirected into the landscape, filtering and utilizing rainwater as a resource. Native and some non-native-but-climate-appropriate plants were installed, and the irrigation was converted to drip. (See this for more details: http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/ventura-chapter-teams-with-city-for-ocean-friendly-gardens-program-series).


In the news:  http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/oct/01/volunteers-help-ventura-homeowners-rework/

More information:

surfrider.org coastal blog: taking-ofg-to-the-streets-parkway-curb-cut-bio-swale

Ventura OFG Campaign: http://ww2.surfrider.org/ventura/VenturaOFG.html

Surfrider's OFG page: http://www.surfrider.org/programs/entry/ocean-friendly-gardens

Solving the Urban Runoff Problem:  http://www.venturariver.org/2008/01/urban-watershed-planning-ventura-ca.html

Participant blog: http://www.lajohnny.com/404/green-streets-pilot-program-ventura-california/


Get involved:
Surfrider:             vcsrf.oceanfriendlygardens@gmail.com
City of Ventura:  Jill Sarick     jsarick@cityofventura.net     805-652-4501

...

Ocean Friendly Gardens video

The Ventura County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has been actively working to solve the urban runoff problem.  Starting at home, Ocean Friendly Gardens demonstrates how to transform the urban environment from one that pollutes the ocean thru a 'Pave it, Pipe it, Drain it' mentality, into an landscape that 'Slows it, Spreads it, and Sinks it.'

The Chapter is proud to present a new video about Ocean Friendly Gardens, now viewable online at the City of Ventura's 'Water Take 1' website:

The Surfrider Foundation’s spring Ocean Friendly Garden series was a huge sucess. The series started with a Watershed Basics Class on March 10,  where participants learned the fundamentals of OFG and their garden’s relationship to our watershed.  The next event, a Hands-On Workshop (HOW) was held April 15 from 9 am to Noon on-site at a local resident’s home where participants conducted a site evaluation and design a garden.   And on May 12, over 30 volunteers came out for the Garden Workday which dramatically changed one residential landscape from a flat impervious lawn into a 'sponge' garden that will not only conserve water, but also capture and infiltrate runoff that would otherwise contribute to the urban runoff problem in Ventura.


Watch the video: http://www.watertake1.com/videos/watch/ocean-friendly-gardens/

Water Take 1: http://www.watertake1.com/

In the News:  http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/may/24/surfrider-partners-with-city-to-promote-ocean/

More info: http://ww2.surfrider.org/ventura/VenturaOFG.html

                 http://www.surfrider.org/programs/entry/ocean-friendly-gardens

                  http://www.sscrcd.org/rainwater.php


...

First LID Parking Lot in Ventura

I had heard rumors. The word about town was the parking lot for the new "Fresh and Easy" store in Ventura.

Once you see how this works, it's so obvious. A simple shift from 'convex' medians to a 'concave' swale makes all the difference. Curbless planters allow water to enter landscaped areas. Pervious 'grass-crete' paving under the parked cars catches oil drips.

It's a shift from a landscape designed to shed water, to one that captures and infiltrates the runoff from paved surfaces.

Go take a look for yourself. Then visit our Ocean Friendly Gardens website and apply it to your own property!

Slow it, spread it, sink it!

Ocean Friendly Gardens at Green Building Council

USGBC California Central Coast Chapter Meeting
Monday January 25th 2010, 5:30 – 7:30pm
Patagonia Firehouse Building

Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG) Director, Paul Herzog and Landscape Architect Pamela Berstler from the Green Gardens Group (G3) gave a great presentation tonight. They described the OFG program promoting beautiful, water-conserving gardens that reduce polluted runoff and restore urban wildlife habitat. Opportunities exist for homeowners, landscape professionals, and urban planners to all get involved in solving our urban runoff problem.

Look for more workshops and hands-on work days in 2010!

For more information contact Cynthia Hartley, Ventura OFG Coordinator, at vcsrf.oceanfriendlygardens@gmail.com

For more on 'why:'

http://surfrider.org/ventura/Ocean%20Friendly%20Gardens.html

In the news:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jan/24/storm-drains-push-debris-pollutants-into-the/

Ojai watershed exhibit

The Go Green Ojai! exhibition will feature ways we can live more sustainably in our everyday lives in the Ojai Valley, from auditing our energy, planting trees, supporting our farmers (and home growing food as well), and restoring our wetlands and waterways. There will be a "cutaway" green home exhibit showing alternative energy, building materials, energy sources, landscape features, and more!

The Watershed group has put together a large (6 ft x 8 ft) display that describes our watershed and water supply. Tom Bostrom has single-handedly compiled the graphics and information for this great display. The exhibit will also feature information on 'Ocean Friendly Gardens' and other ways to protect our watershed.

Here is the large poster display before Tom installed it in the Ojai Valley Museum on Friday:



To kick off the exhibit, the Ojai Valley Green Coalition is putting on a reception at the museum on Sunday, December 13 at 4 PM. Guests will have a firsthand look at the displays, enjoy organic appetizers by the Green Coalition's Culinary Club, and celebrate how Ojai's future can...and will...go green. If you are are interested in attending the reception, the cost is $25 per person, and here is a link to make reservations

The exhibit runs from December 10 to February 14, and the museum hours are Thursday and Friday, 1 to 4 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM, and Sunday, 12 noon to 4 PM.

Ocean Friendly Gardens catch on

Local news:

Sustainable landscapes let soil absorb runoff

Ripping out the water-guzzling grass was an easy decision for Ventura homeowners Sherri and Thurop Van Orman, who wanted a back yard both eco-friendly and still inviting to their young children.

“We wanted a place of exploration and natural wonder,” Sherri said.

Instead of the patchy lawn there now sits a meandering arroyo and a sustainable landscape of flowering, drought-tolerant native or Mediterranean plants, all fed by a drip irrigation system. Pipes with tiny holes capture runoff from the house’s roof and hardscape, funneling it to areas where it can be absorbed into the ground.

As localities grapple with tough new rules governing runoff, these kinds of low-water, self-containing gardens and landscapes are being encouraged for homes and commercial properties to minimize the volume of runoff reaching the ocean and protected waterways.

“Every resident can take simple precautions to ensure water remains clean,” said Arne Anselm, water quality monitoring manager for the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.

A self-contained landscape or rain garden is an anti-Army Corps of Engineers, old-style approach. When creeks got channelized and concrete dikes raised along riverbeds, the idea was to move water away as fast as possible. The problem locally is that it finds its way into the Ventura and Santa Clara rivers, Malibu and Calleguas creeks and bays and estuaries, and eventually empties into the ocean.

Sustainable landscapes make moving water slow down, absorb, nurture.

more

Grow Food Party Crew

Why waste water on a lawn, when you can grow food in your own garden?

Don't know how? Here's a group that will come in and do it with you, and throw a party too!

"Grow Food Party Crew"

coming soon to a garden near you....





contact them here: growfoodpartycrew@gmail.com

What is a bioswale?

According to Wikipedia,

• "Bioswales are landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff

This is a key concept in restoring the landscape to not only reduce 'nonpoint source pollution,' but also to enhance groundwater recharge:

Know Your H2O

This from our friends in San Diego:







A little comedy goes a long way... More here

Rainwater harvesting planned for Ojai home

An Ojai resident, inspired by all the information from the Ojai Green Coalition Watershed Committee events, decided to landscape their property to take advantage of rainwater. (Brad Lancaster's talk was especially motivating.)

GOALS
· To harvest 100 percent of the water that falls on the land.
· To store a majority of the roof runoff in tanks for domestic use.
· To turn the soil back into a sponge to absorb and hold the moisture throughout the dry season.
· To create an oasis in the arid land of Ojai


Proposed Water Flow Description:
Water that falls on the roof will first fill up cisterns. After they reach capacity, overflow pipes will lead them to the highest point of the landscape – at which a pond will be located. Once the pond fills up, the spillway will overflow to a series of basins that will allow the water to slow down and absorb just where we want it – where we put in plants. After that it will fill up a second pond – with its inlet planted to reeds for filtering out sediment – and head to a final catch basin. If this ever overflows, then it will head to the street.

This design was created by Devin Slaven of Ojai, and the owners are documenting their progress as they make their landscape "water wise" and "ocean friendly."

The Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens website has more examples...

Turning Water Scarcity Into Water Abundance

Thursday August 28, 2008 • 7:00 pm

Wow! I counted almost 200 people packed into the Chaparral Auditorium in Ojai to hear renowned rainwater harvesting Brad Lancaster's talk, "Turning Water Scarcity Into Water Abundance." This Slide Show and Book Signing was sponsored by the Ojai Valley Green Coalition as part of their monthly Ecology and Community series. Congratulations to the organizers for bringing such an enlightening speaker to our watershed!

The evening began with a rather dry presentation by Jim MacDonald, a Ventura County building official, about the county's new greywater codes. After hearing the bureacratic restrictions, it was not surprising that nobody in Ventura County has applied for a greywater permit since it became effective in February. Apparently there are far more effective statewide greywater ordinances in Arizona and New Mexico, something to begin to work toward in California, where the governor has proclaimed a statewide drought.

Best selling author Brad Lancaster lives in Tuscon, Arizona, which receives 12 inches of rain annually - slightly less than Ventura's 15 inches and Ojai's 20 inches annually. Turns out, just like the Ventura River, Tuscon once had a free flowing river. Now dry most of the year, and channelized in concrete, Brad showed how land use and development practices have created a scarcity of water. Then he says "Are you scared? Do you live in 'Scare-City'?" Looking at concrete channels like this one in Ventura, I'd say so. (I AM scared to surf after it rains)

Then Brad shared the story of how he and his brother converted their home, run down and destined for condemnation when they bought it in 1996, into an 'oasis' of life right in the heart of the desert city of Tuscon. The makeover was so dramatic that it grew into a neighborhood effort, with residents coordinated tree planting and stormwater capture on city right of way's, eliminating flooding, traffic, and turning the heat island streetscape into a 'cool island.' Brad also presented some great numbers on how much rainwater the impermeable street surfaces in Tuscon flush away unused in the desert city.

Turning around and pointing to the seat of his pants, he says "now we can do a bun dance' with our a-bun-dance of water and the benefits that come with that abundance!"

Brad's new book Rainwater Harvesting, Vol. 2 will make you want to get out your shovels and dance in the rain! Beyond that, it will:

· Show you how to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen water-harvesting earthworks.

· Present detailed how-to information and variations of a diverse array of earthworks, including mulch, vegetation, and greywater recycling, so that you can customize the techniques to your site.

For those who live in coastal watersheds, these are very simple and cheap ways to create your 'Ocean Friendly Garden.' And now that the City of Ventura has committed to a 'Green Streets' program, there may be opportunities for our neighborhood communities to start cutting curbs and planting trees!

To learn more about Brad Lancaster and his work, visit www.HarvestingRainwater.com.