Water Conservation for the City of Goodyear

Transcription

1 Water Conservation for the City of Goodyear Goodyear Maroon Hayley Miller, Kelly Hyde, Antonio Moore, Benjamin Goldman, and Alex Rudolph

2 Canyon Trails I&II vs. Canyon Trails 3,4 West & South

3 Grassy Areas Are Not Necessarily Appealing - When grassy areas are too large, they are not at human scales that support social or personal distance, leaving extraneous space (more maintenance costs) - Grassy spaces in Canyon Trails 3 & 4 have very little vegetation, trees, flowers - Most grassy areas in Canyon Trails 3 and 4 have very few or no walkways whatsoever - Generally restricted to the center of the neighborhood, making the vast majority of houses too far to enjoy the convenience of community spaces - It is uncommon to see pedestrians spending time in these spaces

4 Canyon Trails 4 South Canyon Trails 4 South

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6 Canyon Trails 4 West

7 Canyon Trails 3 - No paths - No recreational activities (like playgrounds or tennis courts). Nothing to do - No community gathering spaces (like picnic tables or gazebos)

8 Goodyear Demographics -The population of Goodyear is about 72,880 -Only 19% of the population (age 5-17) is within the target age range to utilize these open greens spaces -This means that Canyon Trails green spaces are under-utilized by the vast majority of the population -Adding recreational and community spaces would likely engage more age groups, meaning more residential participation and desirability

9 Canyon Trails 3 - Community spaces (playground and gazebo) are already separate from grass - Separate spaces incentivize people to spend time away from the grass - Children wouldn t be allowed to stray far from the playground anyway

10 Turf Options Commonly used grasses require several inches of water annually to be maintained naturally The Phoenix area has an annual average of only about 8 inches If turf areas must remain, consider these options: 1. Reduce turf size to accommodate needs - Xeriscaping and flowers can take place of some grassy spots 2. Switch to artificial turf - Quality and aesthetic have improved drastically - They are user friendly: fine for pets and reflect heat - They are cost effective 3. If grass must be kept, consider using drought-tolerant options - Buffalo or blue grama grasses are good substitutions

11 Buffalo lh5.ggpht.com/_mwco341x_zg/sossz9ts3-i/aaaaaaaaima/_uv2yo9 -Dfg/s800/DSC06056.JPG mages/original/uc_verde_buffalo_grass_lawn_care_manageme nt.jpeg?

12 Benefits of Xeriscape Not all xeriscape has to look the same. Many different styles can be achieved with benefits: Requires less maintenance Saves water Uses no fertilizers or pesticides Improved Property Values* Pollution Free Creates more habitat for wildlife Increase in biodiversity Captivating & customizable *UNLV study finds that the addition of Xeriscape increases property values Source: Wikimedia Commons

13 Xeriscape Examples

14 Latent Demand There is untapped potential lying in the underutilized open space Well-appointed xeriscape gardens offer opportunities for community engagement HOA heads could host events here, bolstering social capital Residents could better take advantage of outdoor space Biking, walking, running, reading, gardening, etc. Community members would enjoy participating in a visioning process Presents greater value to current and potential residents who have future investment in their homes Creates opportunities for landscape art and biophilic design

15 Xeriscaping Companies -Bright View -Arte Verde (Residential Xeriscaping) -Xeriscapes Unlimited Inc.

16 Xeriscaping Services and Smart Irrigation Brightview: Arte Verde: Well known for large scale work in Goodyear. Their smart irrigation technology was actually used in the successful case study Changes residential landscapes in sections, cost-effective Low-volume drip emitters Plant-grouping based on water needs Xeriscapes Unlimited Inc: Offers free evaluation of existing water controller efficiencies. Offers smart controllers that are incredibly accessible and reactive, allowing on-site management to be performed by employees on anything from a laptop or a smartphone Offers Arbor specialists that can design a shadier aesthetic by planting more trees/desert plants along existing pathways

17 Community Innovation and Engagement Canyon Trails 1 & 2 implemented landscaping changes in a quick and efficient manner by reducing community involvement in the front end of the project and then focusing on community feedback once it was completed. To experience the same results and reduce net water loss through inefficiency, Canyon Trails 3 & 4 must adopt the same results-oriented methodology. (Hoffman). Regardless of aesthetic preferences of residents, saving water usage costs close to the 60% of water usage that Canyon Trails 1 & 2 saved means savings that would come back to benefit residents in the long-term. (Ferris).

18 Water Conservation for the City of Goodyear Arizona State University Goodyear Gold Makayla Minch, Quinn Pitcher, Sarah Ozelieri, and Ryan Swapp

19 What problems does Pebble Creek have? How can Canyon Trails 1 & 2 influence larger Homeowners Association s and the city moving forward? Pebble Creek has 350 acres of grass, 40 acres of lakes, 10 acres of greens, spanning 45 holes Maintenance spoke of considerable runoff with no storage or preservation methods Standing water on sidewalk Large patches of dead grass High percentage of snowbirds that leave during the summer

20 It s not just a Homeowners Association Problem Population of Goodyear has increased from ~17k in 2000 to ~77k in 2015 City of Buckeye was the seventh fastest growing city in at 4.8% growth Maintaining the Arizona s mandated 100 year water plan

21 What worked for Canyon Trails? Turned the community into zones so they could complete the work in stages Brought in a company capable of handling the workload effectively Met with property manager, and Brightview on a regular basis

22 Outside of Canyon Trails What are other communities doing? Weather Based Irrigation Controllers (WBIC) with onsite monitoring Storage ponds for runoff that can be utilized during droughts Wood chips and native plants in drought tolerant areas Utilization of saltgrass (a138) in some areas increasing drought resistance by 300% over Bermuda

23 What can Goodyear do? Increase reclaimed usage for golf courses Turf reduction rebates Promote classes offered to the community with leading and passionate professionals! Make a yearly conservation award

24 Performance Metrics & Awards Utilize performance indicators to evaluate HOA efficiency regarding water consumption System operation indicators and productivity indicators Use of indicators to highlight areas of improvement Present award to most efficient HOA Encourage communities to get involved Increase exposure and gain support

25 This is bigger than even just a Goodyear problem Use Participatory System Dynamics to get the rest of the Tri-City area or even the rest of Phoenix involved A systems model that integrates: Scientific theory Hypothesis testing Clear statements of assumptions Stakeholder engagement (Beall et al., 2011)

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28 Applied to the Tri-City Area What is Arizona s 100 Year Plan? Why is it important? Where is our current use compared to where it should be? Why can t we just take more water from the Colorado River? How can we alter habits to progress towards that goal?

29 This is bigger than even just a Goodyear problem This system is not used to solve a problem, but to facilitate a discussion Should be used in conjunction with hands-on methods and policy While Canyon Trails I and II have shown that small scale changes can be made without a fuss, top down change will require more engagement.

30 Communication, Passion, and Education Encourage HOAs to have caring members Work closely with professionals Have an agenda Recognise who is truly making a difference in the community Promote more educational programs and projects to collaborate with City Projects and goals Stay true to sustainable development

31 References Annual Budget. (n.d.). Annual Budget Book City of Goodyear 2018 Annual Budget. Retrieved February 22, Beall, A., Fiedler, F., Boll, J., & Cosens, B. (2011). Sustainable Water Resource Management and Participatory System Dynamics. Case Study: Developing the Palouse Basin Participatory Model. Sustainability, 3(5), doi: /su City of Goodyear. (2015) Population Data. General Plan Annual Data Hoffman, Andrew J. Overcoming the Social and Psychological Barriers to Green Building. Organization and Environment, vol. 21, no. 4, Dec. 2008, pp Jabr, Ferris. Outgrowing the Traditional Grass Lawn. Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 29 July 2013, blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/outgrowing-the-traditional-grass-lawn/. Pebble Creek HOA. (2018) Golf Course Maintenance - Protecting Our Assets. Ruddell, D. M., & Dixon, P. G. (2013). The energy water nexus: are there tradeoffs between residential energy and water consumption in arid cities? International Journal of Biometeorology, 58(7), doi: /s y Turner, V. K., & Ibes, D. C. (2011). The Impact of Homeowners Associations on Residential Water Demand Management in Phoenix, Arizona. Urban Geography, 32(8), doi: / Wentz, E. A., Rode, S., Li, X., Tellman, E. M., & Turner, B. L. (2016). Impact of Homeowner Association (HOA) landscaping guidelines on residential water use. Water Resources Research, 52(5), doi: /2015wr Ya n ez-arancibia, A., & Day, J. W. (2017). Water scarcity and sustainability in the arid area of North America. Regions and Cohesion, 7(1). doi: /reco

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