Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District

1. Water conservation strategies Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District John Green, Lead Scientist www.goldridgercd.org July 2016

5. Principles 1. Conserve! • Be smart about water use, and you will use less 2. Collect and store water when it is plentiful • Rainwater catchment • Storage tanks 3. Get water into the ground. • Avoid practices that concentrate water • Embrace practices that disperse and infiltrate water

7. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…

8. Reduce, Reuse, Recharge

9. Reduce… Overall water use • Indoor water efficiency • Low-flow fixtures • Efficient appliances

10. Reduce… Overall water use • Indoor water efficiency • Low-flow fixtures • Efficient appliances • Outdoor uses • Native or drought-tolerant plants • Efficient irrigation

11. Reduce… Demand on extractive sources • Water storage • Alternative sources • Rainwater

12. Rainwater catchment basics

13. Rainwater catchment basics

14. Is it legal to capture rainwater? • California Water Code §1201 • All water flowing in any natural channel… is hereby declared to be public water of the State and subject to appropriation in accordance with the provisions of this code. • State Water Resources Control Board • If you take water from a lake, river, stream, or creek, or from underground supplies for a beneficial use, the California Water Code (Division 2) requires that you have a water right. (http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/board_info/faqs.shtml#toc178761080)

15. Rainwater catchment basics

16. Rainwater catchment basics

17. Rainwater catchment basics

18. Rainwater catchment basics

19. Rainwater catchment basics • Target volume: How much water do you need? • Collection capacity: How much water can you collect? • Storage capacity: How much space is available to store water? Do other constraints exist? • Costs: How much will the infrastructure cost?

20. Rainwater catchment basics A 1,000 ft2 roof area will shed 623 gallons of water for each inch of rain that falls on it. So… in a 25-inch rainfall year, a 1,000-square-foot roof sheds nearly 16,000 gallons of water.

21. Water storage

22. Water storage

23. Water storage

24. Water storage

25. Water quality • Rainwater is very pure to start with • Contaminants usually derive from the roof or other catchment surface

26. Water quality • Gutter and downspout screens

27. Water quality • Gutter and downspout screens • First flush diverters

28. Water quality • Gutter and downspout screens • First flush diverters • Additional filtration is generally not necessary for non-potable uses

29. Reduce… • Reduces reliance on extractive sources of water • Water supply security • Diversification • Independence • Cost • Protection of natural resources

31. Reuse… Why do we use high-quality potable water drawn from extractive sources for purposes that don’t require it?

32. Reuse… Greywater systems • Laundry-to-landscape • Non-potable indoor uses

33. Recharge…

34. Recharge…

35. Recharge… Runoff!

36. Recharge… • Runoff • Flooding • Water pollution • Reduced recharge • Channel incision • Erosion • Degraded aquatic habitat • Aquifer damage

37. Recharge… • Runoff • Flooding • Water pollution • Reduced recharge • Channel incision • Erosion • Degraded aquatic habitat • Aquifer damage • Less water available during the dry season

38. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Compacted ground • Impervious surfaces • Roads

39. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Compacted ground • Impervious surfaces • Roads

40. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Compacted ground • Impervious surfaces • Roads

41. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Compacted ground • Impervious surfaces • Roads

42. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Compacted ground • Impervious surfaces • Roads

43. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Impervious surfaces • Compacted ground • Roads

44. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Compacted ground • Impervious surfaces • Roads

45. Recharge… • Sources of runoff • Impervious surfaces • Compacted ground • Roads

46. Identifying solutions

47. Identifying solutions • Water conservation to reduce overall demand • Identify alternative sources • Construct water storage to address the temporal mismatch between supply and demand

48. Resources • American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (www.arcsa.org) • Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership (cohopartnership.org) • Salmon Creek Watershed Council (www.salmoncreekwater.org/water-conservation.html) • Sanctuary Forest (Mattole River) (sanctuaryforest.org/water-stewardship/) • Handbook for Forest, Ranch and Rural Roads (http://mcrcd.org/wp-content/uploads/Handbook_for_Forest_Ranch&Rural_Roads.pdf)