Practical Solutions to Create a Water-Wise Home Water Conservation 101
Daily Acts Nonprofit organization established in 2002 Mission: To transform our communities through inspired action and education that builds leadership and local selfreliance Sustainability tours, workshops, presentations and events Partners include public agencies and municipalities, community organizations, schools and businesses
You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Water Conservation 101 Drought Overview Healdsburg Water Use Restrictions Our Watershed Residential Water Uses 9 R s of Water Wisdom City of Healdsburg resources and support
Drought Overview
City of Healdsburg Water Use Restrictions
City of Healdsburg Water Restrictions Emergency Regulations adopted by State Water Resources Control Board in May 2015 Regulation went into effect on June 1 st, 2015 and continues through February 2016 Requires City of Healdsburg to reduce water use by 24% as compared to water usage in 2013 Outdoor watering limited to two days per week Current average daily use is 118 gallons/per person/per day and goal for 2015 is 90 gallons
Our Watershed
Understanding our Watershed A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. Or as scientist geographer John Wesley Powell describes, a watershed is that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community.
Our Watershed is Our Lifeboat! www.oaecwater.org
The 8 R s of Water Wisdom
Typical residential water use Other, 0 Shower, 9% Leaks, 10% Dishwasher, 1% Bath, 1% Faucets, 7% Washing Machines, 12% Outdoor, 47% Toilets, 13%
1. Read
Read your water meter Get to know your water meter - Locating your meter - Reading your meter - Calculating water use - Monitoring water use - Checking for leaks
Read your water bill
2. Rethink
Rethink how you think about water Conservation isn t a sacrifice it s about needing less. Start at the head waters - Practice awareness & appreciation - Get educated, observe, interact, wonder why - Spend time in nature and get to know your watershed
3. Reduce
Reduce your water use Inside Be suds savvy! Take shorter showers, soap up & wash hair with the water off Fill er Up! Run full loads in clothes and dishwashers Turn off faucet while brushing teeth and save 10 gallons per day! Place bucket in shower and use to flush toilets. If it s yellow Outside Water in the early morning or evening (before 7am and after 8pm) Adjust sprinklers to eliminate overspray Irrigate efficiently using a drip system or hand water Plant native and low-water trees and plants Amend soil with compost and use mulch around plants
4. Repair
Repair leaks to avoid loss Water loss through 10-15% of residential water use comes from leaks or breaks! - A dripping faucet can waste 1,500 gallons/month - An irrigation leak can waste 10,000 gallons/month - A leaky toilet waste 30-30 gallons/day Make Repairs!! Change washers Irrigation repairs
5. Replace
Replace the water guzzlers! Inside Faucet aerators, shower heads, your washing machine and old toilets Look into City incentive programs Outside Turn your lawn into lunch Add water-wise native and edible plants Replace sprinklers with drip irrigation
Replace water-thirsty turf
Replace turf and create water-wise gardens Robbins Park, Billington Lane & Dartmouth Way, Windsor
Replace turf and create water-wise gardens
6. Reuse
Reuse greywater As defined by 2009 California Plumbing Code..untreated wastewater that has not been contaminated by any toilet discharge, has not been affected by infectious, contaminated, or unhealthy bodily wastes, and does not present a threat from contamination by unhealthful processing, manufacturing, or operating wastes Chapter 16A California Plumbing Code 1602A.0 Definitions
Reuse greywater Use a bucket for shower warm-up water Use a bowl or pot in kitchen sink Assess your greywater opportunities: laundry machines, bathroom sinks, tubs and showers. Reusing greywater saves water and energy! Start with laundry to landscape, it does not require a permit
Reuse greywater Laundry drum (no permit) Laundry-to-Landscape (no permit) Branched Drain (permit required) Constructed wetlands (permit required) Pumped systems (permit required)
Laundry-to-Landscape
Laundry-to-Landscape
Laundry-to-Landscape
Laundry-to-Landscape
Laundry-to-Landscape
Greywater-friendly Soaps No Sodium or Boron! Recommended soaps include: - Oasis - ECOS - Biopac liquid detergent - Vaska - Soap alternatives like soap nuts and "wonder balls - Ozone laundry systems
7. Retain
Retain the rain www.oaecwater.org
Retain the rain Assess your resource and retention opportunities Increase the living sponge Install a rain garden or swales Install a rain barrel or cistern Think: slow it, spread it, sink it and store it!
Retain the rain
Retain the rain Calculating rainfall volume from a given catchment surface in gallons: A x R x 7.5 gal/ft 3 = Total Rainwater (gal) A = Catchment area in square feet (length X width) R = Rainfall in feet = Rainfall in inches / 12 There are about 7.5 gallons per cubic foot You can collect 600 gallons of water per inch of rain falling on 1,000 square feet of catchment surface.
Retain the rain with compost & mulch
Retain the rain in rain tanks
Retain the rain in rain tanks
Retain the rain in rain barrels
Retain the rain in a rain garden
Retain the rain with swales
Retain the rain with swales
Retain the rain with swales
8. Resources
City of Healdsburg - Rebate Programs Indoor Toilets Clothes Washer Outdoor Lawn Conversion Irrigation Upgrade Greywater System
City of Healdsburg - Free Stuff! Dual spray swivel kitchen sink aerator Bubble spray bathroom aerator Bubble spray bathroom aerator Chrome showerhead Soap and soak shower valves Toilet leak detection dye tabs and displacement bag Educational water saving wheel Educational energy and water saving activity booklet for kids
City of Healdsburg - Audits Free Home Water Use Audit Reduced price Irrigation Audit
9. Relationships
Relationships (and Ripples!) What is your relationship to water? What is your relationship to your watershed? Who can you share your water wisdom with?
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it s the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
Upcoming Events Workshop: Laundry-to-Landscape Greywater Installation Saturday, August 1st 10am FREE (thanks to the City of Petaluma!) Private Residence (address provided with registration), Petaluma Talk: The Permaculture City by Toby Hemenway Thursday, August 6th 7pm FREE Lucchesi Center, Petaluma Workshop: Shower-to-Flowers Greywater Installation Saturday, August 22nd 10am FREE (thanks to the City of Petaluma!) Private Residence (address provided with registration), Petaluma Event: DIY Drought Solutions Saturday, August 29th 10am FREE (thanks to the City of Santa Rosa!) City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Santa Rosa
Thank You!