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Earthwatch
Think Natural: Ways to Save Water
by Sean Nash and Jennifer Cole
Photo 1 - 300 gallon water catchment system.
Photo 2 - Flowers thrive in mulched beds.
Whether a recent transplant, a life long native, or a seasonal visitor, anyone who has spent time in California will tell you that The Golden State lives up to its reputation. Mild temperatures and endless days of sunshine make the climate among the most beautiful in the United States.
However, such comfort comes with a price. With an average annual rainfall of only 10.3 to 23.9 inches, according to the California State Climatologist’s Office, drought conditions in our region have become so common that many people barely give them any thought at all.
But the tides are turning. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders recently announced California’s first mandatory water rationing in history. Starting July 1, 2009, local residents must cut their water consumption by 20 percent or face stiff financial penalties.
According to the San Diego Water Authority, 90 percent of the water is pumped in from the Colorado and Sacramento Rivers–both of which have been taxed for years to supply water not only to 37 million Californians, but to residents of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. These finite resources can no longer sustain all of the cities which depend on them. If we are all to continue receiving water from these rivers, it will have to be in drastically smaller amounts.
The good news is that there are painless ways to achieve this goal.
Due to the southwest’s constant bout with drought, most residents are well aware of the big water-wasting faux pas: long showers, leaving the water running in the sink, and hosing down sidewalks, to name a few. According to the American Water Works Association, the average person in the United States uses 150 gallons of water per day, a whopping 58 percent of which is used for landscaping. In Southern California, residential landscapes are often packed with thirsty non-native plants, such as birds of paradise, banana trees, bamboo, and certain palm trees. But the number one water sucker across the nation is grass. Lawns require constant water to remain green, and yet aside from using them for the occasional summer barbeque, they are purely ornamental. As pretty as a vast expanse of green grass can be, lawns waste thousands of gallons and hundreds of dollars per year for each household. With our water supply in such dire straits, lawns are uneconomical, counter intuitive, and downright irresponsible.
Two other water wasters are the use of sprinklers and the topography of the yard. Sprinklers spray water into the air before it falls onto the tops of plants (rather than onto the soil below where it can be absorbed) resulting in tremendous losses to evaporation—even during mornings and evenings. Water that does reach the ground often runs uselessly off the top of the soil and into the gutters. This circumstance is exacerbated by the layout of the yard. When a landscape slopes toward the street, the water has no chance to infiltrate the ground before running off into the sewers. Similarly, many yards have an uneven topography which leads to a marshy puddle in the lowest area while the rest of the yard remains parched.
Fortunately there are simple solutions to avoiding wasteful water use. All plants evolved in, and are thus suited to, a specific environment. It’s when we grow non-native plants that additional work and water is needed to maintain them. For every region there are many beautiful native and drought tolerant plants such as succulents, wild flowers, wild grasses, and shade trees. These plants evolved specifically to survive on little rain, so that once established, they require little to no additional water, even during the dry months. Food-bearing plants usually require additional water, but as these actively give back the energy and resources put into them, the cost is justified.
When revamping a yard to be more water wise, single out those areas which require the most water–such as food-bearing plants and trees. Dig a basin around the perimeter, or a berm on the downhill side, and fill it with compost and mulch. The organic material in the basin then acts as a sponge to capture and hold moisture, so instead of rain or municipal water evaporating or running off the top of the soil, it stays in the basin where it infiltrates the soil around the plant slowly. Be sure those plants which require the most water are situated in the lowest parts of the yard so they can collect and hold as much of the seasonal rainfall as possible. Also replacing conventional sprinkler systems with soaker hoses and drip irrigation systems greatly reduces the amount of water (and money) lost to evaporation.
Catching rainwater and using it for irrigation is a simple way to add to your water supply. Rainwater harvesting can range from as small and easy as mulched basins to as large as a rain catchment system on a building that collects and stores all the water that runs off the roof, which averages six gallons of water per square foot for every inch of rain.
Just as we can reduce landscaping water needs with native plants, mulching, drip irrigation, clever landscaping, and rainwater harvesting, we can also stretch the existing water supply by reusing water from bathtubs, sinks, and washing machines. This water is called greywater. Perfectly suitable for irrigating landscapes, greywater is household waste water which does not contain serious contaminants such as toxins and human or animal waste. A five-minute shower can use up to 20 gallons of water. In his book Branched Drain Greywater Systems, Art Ludwig claims, “If we were all to take just the water from our showers and use it for landscape irrigation we could save an average of 3,380 gallons a year per person.”
In California, Arizona, and New Mexico, it is legal to reuse greywater for landscaping if your system is approved by your local building inspector. The building codes governing greywater use are written to allow the inspector to pass any system which meets his or her requirements; however, many mistakes are made when people decide to reuse waste water without taking time to research the proper way to build a long lasting and environmentally safe system. In fact, in Builder’s Greywater Guide, Art Ludwig estimates that 99 percent of greywater systems in use today are not permitted.
The construction of massive water infrastructure has made it possible for the cities built in the desert to grow and thrive far beyond their environments’ capacity to support them. This marvel of modern engineering came at the price of the earth’s natural waterways and hydrological cycles. Water is a limited resource and the lifeblood of this planet; without it nothing could survive. Yet it has become increasingly obvious that our clean water supply is seriously threatened. Instead of relying on the government to keep giving us more and more water, we all must take individual responsibility for the sustainable use of the water we already have. In this time of change, we must all look to the land which sustains us and take action to maximize the use of our rain and greywater. This is how we will ensure our survival.
Sean Nash is a natural building consultant and the founder of Natural Nash Land Stewards, the mission of which is to educate homeowners, builders and landscapers in the ways of permaculture and sustainability. Jennifer Cole is passionate about art, writing, and naturopathic healing and enjoys researching and pursuing methods of creating a sustainable future for our world. To learn more about water conservation, visit www.naturalnash.com or contact naturalnash@gmail.com.