Category Archives: Water Posts

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APRIL Film: Vertical Farming — Feeding the Cities of Tomorrow

APRIL Film: Vertical Farming — Feeding the Cities of Tomorrow

When: Wednesday, April 10, 7 pm   Where: Peacock Hall

Growing produce hydroponically, without soil, may be the future of agriculture.  Plants grow on trays stacked 30 feet high, or more, or in columns. Farmers practice vertical farming both outdoors in giant, tall green houses, and indoors, using artificial LED light. Entrepreneurs are investing in this advance around the world. Companies are beginning to scale up, but have yet to prove it can be commercially successful on a large scale. One such company, Spreads, is negotiating coming to Walnut Creek.
Will this be the way we feed the cities of tomorrow? Some advantages are:
– Vertical Farming does not require acres of arable land,
– It can be done in urban areas, close to the consumers — avoiding transportation costs and pollution, and delivering fresher food, and
– Vertical Farming can be done with 1/10th the amount of water, in a shorter time, and without pesticides.
One such enterprise has its retail store on the first floor. Some have their employees wear what look a bit like hazmat suits.
Discussion Afterwards
After the one-hour film, a local farmer/teacher, Shawn Seufert, will share his experiences and answer questions. The event is another opportunity to pickup a free Sustainable Rossmoor raffle ticket prize drawing in the afternoon of April 25th.
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Farmer Shawn Seufert brings produce to market

SHAWN SEUFERT will be sharing his experiences teaching middle school and high school students Vertical Farming on Wednesday, April 10 at 8 pm in Peacock Hall immediately after a 7 pm movie on the same subject. He is known as Farmer Shawn in the the Mt. Diablo High School Sustainable Hospitality Program which focuses on the science of food through culinary, hydroponics and nutrition education.

He works with Cindy Gershen. Together, they are doing amazing work in one of the lowest income schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. The senior class focuses on Career Technical Education through such topics as farm-to-table and farm-to-cafeteria with hands-on experience in the process of planting, growing and harvesting produce and entrepreneurship through catering.
Shawn’s Background
Farmer Shawn is a full-time faculty member. Shawn teaches young people about the full growing cycle of plant life from the science of soil to harvest, storage and food prep, as well as some of the business aspects of agriculture, including how to influence crop yields, reduce water needs, etc.
He owned and managed his family’s farm in Pleasanton for many years. Now he teaches gardening outdoors in soil, as well as hydroponics indoors using twenty soil-free garden towers.
A question and answer period will follow his talk.
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Relevant news articles:
As high-rise farms go global, Japan’s Spread leads the way
Vertical ‘Pinkhouses” — The Future Of Urban Farming?
Gotham Greens in Chicago:
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“WHO OWNS OUR WATER?”

“WHO OWNS OUR WATER?” (a double feature)

When: Wednesday, May 9, 7:00-9:00 pm    Where: Peacock Hall

With the possible need for water reclamation being discussed in our community, Sustainable Rossmoor will be screening two timely films on Wednesday, May 9th at 7 pm in Peacock Hall under the heading “WHO OWNS OUR WATER?” Both award-winning films (each less than an hour) are about who controls California’s water.

PARCHED pt 1 – Privatization: The California Water Heist

First will be “Privatization: The California Water Heist” from the series PARCHED produced by National Geographic. It follows the trail of powerful water moguls as they take over precious water resources in shady backroom deals. Through multiple investigations, the documentary reveals how a few powerful and politically connected men exploit the state’s most precious resource, while drought and a groundwater crisis leave consumers desperate for better solutions. The future of our state’s agriculture – which provides over half the country’s fruits, nuts and vegetables – has become uncertain. Californians and the world are waking up to a stark reality: water is a commodity, and it is becoming more and more valuable. As a Porterville resident warns us, “You’re going to be next. Just watch, you’re going to be next.”

OVER TROUBLED WATERS

The second film, OVER TROUBLED WATERS, produced by Restore the Delta, is back by popular demand. It played during Sustainable Rossmoor’s recent Earth Awareness Week. Narrated by Ed Begley Jr., it details the dangers to the largest estuary on the west coast as it becomes more salty, more shallow, and warmer with its wildlife dying off as a result of canals taking northern CA water to the Central Valley and Los Angeles. It focuses on the water wars between the farmers and the cities, and between Northern and Southern California.

Why does the average Californian “need” over 200 gallons/day while residents in the rest of the developed nations of the world use fewer than 30 gallons daily per person. Why are some Californians required to ration and pay higher prices, while others are not? The new threat — the delta twin tunnels project — is avoidable with other ways to create a sustainable water supply.

 

All are welcome to this free program. An optional discussion will end the evening.

Trailers:

PARCHED: https://vimeo.com/218449210

OVER TROUBLED WATERS: https://vimeo.com/39638832

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California’s Drought Status After Big Storms

California’s Drought After Big Storms

The current situation with California’s drought is discussed in our source article by Tara Lohan published in “Water Deeply” on Jan. 24. California’s water year officially began in October, and it got off to a good start, with above-average precipitation in Northern California. And then in January, things got even wetter as a series of heavily moisture-laden storms known as atmospheric rivers struck the state.

After more than five years of drought, what does this mean for California? Is the state finally out of the woods?

Not officially over

Officially the drought is not over. While many news stories reporting on recent storms in California have declared California’s drought over, officially it is not – the decision to declare that falls to the governor, who announced a Drought State of Emergency on Jan. 17, 2014. A number of factors go into declaring the drought over, said Doug Carlson of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), including the amount of water accumulating in the snowpack, the amount of water in reservoirs and the health of groundwater.

“We say generally that as long as there are drought impacts being felt anywhere, you have to consider the drought is still underway,” he said.

Shrinking

The area of drought is shrinking. The U.S. Drought Monitor’s figures from Jan. 17 show changes in the area of drought. Right now, 58 percent of the state is experiencing some level of drought, down from 97 percent this time last year [down to 38% as of 21FEB]. Most significantly, this time last year 43 percent of the state was designated as being in “exceptional drought” – the most severe drought designation. It included large swathes of the San Joaquin Valley, the most productive farming area for the state. But now that number has fallen to just over 2 percent of the state, concentrated in the Santa Barbara County area.

Snowfall

It’s raining and snowing a lot. Most major reservoirs across the state are doing well. Of biggest concern is Cachuma reservoir, the largest reservoir serving Santa Barbara County; that is at 11 percent of capacity [up to 42 percent as of 2/22/2016]. Rain and snow for the Sierra Nevada both look good. The snow water equivalents in the Sierra are 193 percent of average for this time of year [221% as of 28FEB] and 104 percent of the April 1 average. Although a key to a robust water year will be making sure that warm temperatures do not prematurely melt the snow before it’s needed in late spring and summer.

Groundwater is still a problem

One of California’s biggest problems is groundwater over pumping – something that won’t be solved in a single year. In areas where groundwater is vastly overdrawn, it will take more than just rain, but also investments in water management that includes “conservation, stormwater capture, recycling, desalination, water transfers, diversion, conveyance and storage,” said Lauren Bisnett, an information officer for DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Program.“Groundwater challenges, such as land subsidence, water quality and seawater intrusion have been decades in the making and it will take more than a few storms to alleviate these issues and bring basins into sustainable balance.”

California is working on a long-term strategy for making groundwater management more sustainable, which includes implementation of the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, but it will be decades before it is fully in effect across the state.

Drought impacts

U.C. Davis professor Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, said that it will take decades for the state to recover from many of the drought’s impacts.

“Certainly the groundwater in the southern Central Valley (south of the Delta) will remain low in many areas for years or even decades. Dome groundwater in this region might never recover, as it is so dry down there,” said Lund. “Forest health impacts also could last for many years to decades – if a 30-year-old tree dies, it can take a long time to replace. Many of the depleted native fish were already struggling and could take a long time to recover.”

Similar sentiments were expressed in an opinion piece by Peter Gleick, president-emeritus and chief scientist of the water think tank the Pacific Institute.

“More than 100 million trees have died from drought, temperature stress and insect infestation,” Gleick wrote. “It will take decades for forests to regenerate, and the dead trees and damaged soils will pose forest fire and landslide risks for years.”

Gleick also added that salmon need not just water, but cold water, which means that lots of precipitation may not be enough. “Some urban or agricultural water users will never get all the water they want because formal water rights claims filed with the state are many times larger than California’s natural water availability,” Gleick wrote

This article first appeared in the Rossmoor News, February 15, 2017, author Judith Schumacher-Jennings. Minor update edits and links to referenced articles have been added, when available, for the edification of our readers.

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Water Matters

We will not fully understand life until we find life that has evolved on another planet. Biologists have determined how Earth life evolved and the conditions under which such life is possible. Most biologists share a speculation that life can, and probably has evolved elsewhere in the Universe. But that is speculation until we have an independent example. The recent searches for planets orbiting other stars focus on conditions meeting the narrow limits of Earth in light, temperature, and chemistry. These conditions are determined by the properties of water.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe: 74-percent of ordinary matter. Oxygen is about 1-percent. The other elements are found in diminishing amounts. Carbon, Nitrogen, Iron, and Copper are necessary; but Hydrogen and Oxygen make up the greatest components of living organisms and, in the form of water, are absolutely critical for life on Earth.

Chemists have pictorial ways to represent atoms and molecules. None of these are real, in the sense of being an exact picture. The shared electron model, where the bond is shown as paired electrons, is useful to show how atoms react to form compounds. The ball and stick model is commonly used to represent the structure of drugs. You can see all the different representations by searching “water molecule” and looking at the pictures.

Imagine mixing a container of Hydrogen and a container of Oxygen. The Hydrogen atoms from one container have shared an electron, bonding to form molecules (H2). The Oxygen atoms from the other container can share an electron and have bonded to form molecules (O2). If you introduce a little energy, in the form of a spark, the mixture explodes with some violence to form… Water. The explosion releases energy in the form of heat and the water is much more stable.

This reaction is properly written as 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O to balance the equation. Anton Lavoisier revolutionized chemistry by establishing this concept of combustion and identifying the component “Oxygen” – giving rise to modern chemistry and, ultimately, the chemical industry in the 19th-century.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95128916@N00/14625239124/in/photolist-ohob4f-knYaxm-aNZdQx-rpfJye-4WzXd5-a4T2VV-o14F1m-9dCsph-bVxBZv-6c5qDJ-stAyD-9uA1DD-8ByH2x-ohnhpo-e2p7nJ-a82pNr-68S8Qx-e6xha1-f2Fxx1-xPMHK-cbVvBE-cvvqyW-52Xvka-cbsFr1-buSZdM-o14rcb-o14Gpz-aAynRr-oyF1Pk-qxiDhb-r48VyF-aNZdtZ-jAK1Us-o16Cdc-7yRBd5-7xGRkY-dRcCWc-cqp3wN-gniDYi-f5cubz-dznmod-f9XQo-azSwSw-5qSQgJ-7MzkxT-azHS41-5Ftepy-623TLP-rFrsYY-4V6pto
courtesy of Thomas Brueckner

Consider water, H2O. It is composed of one oxygen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. An Oxygen atom has 6-electrons capable of being shared. A Hydrogen atom has only 1-electron capable of being shared.  The unshared electrons of the Oxygen atom tend to arrange themselves together, away from electron shared with Hydrogen. This reduces the repulsion force between the electrons in the system. The result of this rearrangement makes the water molecule act as if it were “V” shaped, with Oxygen at the apex. The shared electrons form bonds at an angle of 104-degrees and each bond about 3.8-billionth of an inch long.

What is important is that this V-shape creates the forces between water molecules. These forces determine many of the properties of water, such as boiling point, melting point, solvent properties, and why ice floats. All of which are very important to life.

The lopsided arrangement of more negative electrons on one side of the molecule means that, although the total electrical charge is zero, the four electrons gathered at one end of the molecule make that end slightly more electrically negative.  This tends to attract the Hydrogen end of another water molecule, forming a weak bond called a “Hydrogen bond”. That weak bond is what gives water its “surface tension”. You have seen insects run on the surface of still water because of the weak bond (surface tension) between all the molecules at the water surface. It also accounts for capillary action, where water flows of its own accord up a narrow tube. Tiny primitive organisms depend entirely on capillary action and surface tension for their survival. Larger, more complex organisms evolved later with pumping mechanisms to move water or blood.

Specific Heat is a measure of how much energy must be absorbed by water to increase its temperature and how much heat is given off by water to a colder environment. Adding heat to water, as in your water heater, causes the water molecules to jostle about and move. But the weak Hydrogen bond between water molecules must be overcome for this movement. The result is that water has a very high Specific Heat. This makes it a good cooling liquid, a good heat-transmitting liquid, and a good heat-storage liquid. It protects organisms from cold. The body of a 10-pound human infant contains about 7.5-pounds of water at a temperature of 98.6-degF. It takes 7.5-Btu of cooling energy to lower the temperature of that infant 1-degF. That is why a light insulating blanket keeps a well-nourished infant warm.

Even more important for life than Specific Heat is the fact that ice floats on water. Most liquids become more dense as they freeze because the distances between molecules becomes less as their thermal motion decreases, but the weak Hydrogen bonds between water molecules lock in the distance between them as the water crystallizes, so ice is about 9% less dense than liquid water, and floats. This was critical for the evolution of aquatic creatures. With good insulation they can live in the deeps below the ice. Life initially evolved in water.

Finally, water is an incredible solvent; an astonishing number of chemicals will dissolve in water. The weak Hydrogen bonds make one end of each water molecule negative with respect to the other end. Most chemicals react to such polar molecules, either being attracted to one end or the other. This attraction facilitates water’s ability to dissolve so many substances.

So, water is clearly the “magic stuff” for life on earth. It set the temperature range and chemical range for evolution and preservation of life. Possibly life would always evolve on similar water worlds. We can imagine that.

What we cannot imagine, at least yet, is the evolution of life on a different world with a temperature range outside that of liquid water, or a mineral composition not compatible with a water world. Or, indeed, what might happen if the conditions of Earth exceed the limits of life.

This article first appeared in the December 21, 2016 issue of the Rossmoor News, author Wayne Lanier, Ph.D.

 

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Statewide Water Conservation Drops Below 18 Percent in August

The State Water Resources Control Board announced Oct. 5 that urban Californians’ monthly water conservation declined to 17.7 percent in August, down from 27 percent savings in August 2015. The decline raises concerns that some water suppliers are abandoning their focus on conservation as California heads into a possible sixth year of drought.

Are We Getting Apathetic?

These declines highlight the need for continued education and dialogue with customers on the importance of conserving and using water as efficiently as possible. As the State Water Board continues to monitor conservation levels, a return to state-mandated conservation may be necessary beginning next year. “The statewide August conservation results raise questions, and we are examining the data to understand why some areas slipped more than others,” said State Water Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus. “Are we seeing relaxation of conservation messaging and programs or are we seeing abandonment of programs?

One may be appropriate, the other is not. It’s a mixed picture. Many communities who certified that they didn’t ‘need’ to conserve are still conserving up a storm, while others have slipped more than seems prudent.” Marcus added: “While last year’s rain and snow brought a respite for urban California, we are still in drought, and we can’t know what this winter will bring. What we do know is that climate change will continue to make our water years even more unpredictable, so we need to retain our conservation habits for the long term, rain or shine, drought or no drought.”

Stress Test Standards

Under the board’s revised emergency water conservation regulations, urban water agencies have the ability to set their own conservation standards based on a “stress test” of supply reliability. Water suppliers had to document that they have sufficient supplies to withstand three years of continuous drought or take additional measures that include state-imposed mandatory conservation targets. The regulation is in effect through January 2017.

Of more than 400 local water agencies in California, 343 suppliers passed their stress test. Of those, 114 suppliers – or about a third – saved more than 20 percent in August, compared with the same month in 2013. These suppliers serve more than seven million people and include Sacramento, Alameda County Water District (Fremont, Newark and Union City), San Gabriel Valley Water Company, San Gabriel Valley Fontana Water Company, Los Angeles County Public Works Waterworks District 40 (Antelope Valley), California-American Water Company Sacramento District, Contra Costa Water District, San Bernardino, Oceanside, Hayward, and Pomona.

EBMUD passed the stress test but customers saved only 16 percent in August 2016 compared with August 2013. While some local water suppliers may have relaxed water use restrictions from those that were in place last summer, most agencies have kept up locally mandated restrictions and targets, which is appropriate and which the state strongly encourages.

Regardless of a supplier’s individual conservation requirement, the statewide prohibitions on specific wasteful practices such as fountains without recirculating pumps, or irrigation of turf in street medians, remain in place.

SB 814

The legislature’s passage and the governor’s signing of SB 814 will help water suppliers send monetary signals to their highest users about the need to keep conserving while the drought continues. Markus said, “We urge suppliers where conservation levels have dropped steeply to reach out to high use customers to find ways to conserve, and to join their community’s conservation efforts. The legislature’s passage and governor’s signing of SB 814 will help water suppliers send monetary signals to their highest users about the need to keep conserving while the drought continues. Most important, it sends a signal that all Californians are in this together and that fairness includes those who use the most doing their part along with the rest of us.”

SB 814 (Hill) requires urban water suppliers to establish financial penalties for excess water use during droughts. The recently adopted regulation is part of a wider effort to establish permanent conservation measures that improve long-term drought preparedness and eliminate the worst water-wasting practices.

These actions will help achieve a top priority of the state’s Water Action Plan – to “Make Conservation a California Way of Life.”

This article first appeared in the October 26, 2016 issue of the Rossmoor News, author Judith Schumacher-Jennings.

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Not In My Water

After seeing the recent film sponsored by Sustainable Rossmoor titled “Poisoned Water,” most of us were horrified to learn to what extent our survival as a living species on the planet is being jeopardized by pollutants. There’s nothing like a movie to show you details of things in our water that are killing the living creatures in the sea, lakes and rivers. This includes us! During the discussion afterward, we learned that we could all do a few things at home to improve our world’s water quality.

What We Can Do

We can protect our local water by avoiding many of the chemicals and solvents in cosmetics, perfumes, detergents and cleaning products. Surprisingly, they have the same chemicals in them as paints and pesticides. Many of the ingredients in these items have not been tested and are not regulated despite the fact that they can be absorbed through the skin. Some ingredients are included that are known to not be good for other animal life. This revelation is made worse by the fact that even the most sophisticated water treatment plants cannot remove most of them. Then it gets worse – this water then becomes our drinking water. Thus the expression, “If you can’t eat it, don’t use it.”

We can start using safer products – safer for us, safer for animal life and safer for our planet. Be suspicious of any product that has more than five ingredients listed on the label. Start with what you smear on our skin. Look at the ingredients in your sun tan lotion and all other personal products. What chemicals do we use to wash our bodies and clothes?

There are organizations like EWG.org that have done research on hundreds of safer products. They share their findings free on the Internet. The following are just a few suggestions; all are available at local stores. Some are certified organic. The site also gives recipes to make your own concoctions from basic ingredients.

  • LOTIONS and MOISTURIZERS. Look for fragrance-free, hypoallergenic and sensitive-skin products. An example is Burt’s Bees Fragrance-Free Shea Butter and Vitamin E Body Lotion. Or, Coconut Oil makes a safe and effective cream or moisturizer.
  • SHAMPOO. Again, look for fragrance-free, hypoallergenic and sensitive-skin products. • SOAP. Examples include: Dr Bronner’s Unscented Soap – good for body, clothes or dishes; Kiss My Face Olive Oil – as a liquid or bar,
  • DETERGENTS. Arm & Hammer super fragrance-free washing detergent; Seventh Generation natural fragrance-free laundry powder; Seventh Generation chlorine-free bleach; Planet Delicate laundry wash hypo-allergenic; or Trader Joe’s fragrance-free dishwashing detergent.
  • CLEANING PRODUCTS. Whole Foods Market glass cleaner; Ecover Cream Scrub; Green Shield all purpose cleaner and degreaser; Bon Ammi; vinegar and water for mirrors, glass and countertops; baking soda and vinegar for your drains
  • MEDICATION. Dispose of unwanted medication properly: not in the toilet and not in the trash. Use the depository inside the entrance to Gateway.

Share this information with your family and friends. The Internet is full of nontoxic, healthy, fragrance-free products. Remember: read the label, and if you can’t eat it, don’t use it.

This article first appeared in the August 03, 2016 issue of the Rossmoor News, author Daliya Robson

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How Plants Regulate Water and CO2

Proper management of water resources in gardens and landscapes depends upon understanding how plants regulate their water use and retention. This process is intimately connected with photosynthesis, in which plants use the energy in sunlight to combine the carbon in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) with hydrogen from water (H2O) to make both energy and the carbon compounds of life.

Plants carry on photosynthesis during the daylight hours, which means they must take up large quantities of water. This is because water is their source of hydrogen, but also because the way they take up carbon dioxide results in the loss of water through a special form of evaporation called “transpiration.”

How A Plant Drinks

Consider the simplest of plants: A single leaf, a stem and a root. The root terminates in tiny “root hairs,” which are capable of taking up both soil water and the minerals dissolved in that water. Special tubular conductive tissues run from the root hairs through the root and stem to the leaf. “Xylem” is the water-transport tissue that carries water and minerals only from the root to the leaf. “Phloem” is a transport tissue that carries the carbon compounds of life from the leaf to all parts of the plant. Viewed through a microscope, Xylem looks like a simple tube, while Phloem retains its cellular structure. The leaf itself has two special tissues: A spongy tissue called “Parenchyma” and special pores called “stomata.”

Photosynthesis takes place in the Parenchyma cells. Embedded in the Parenchyma, usually on the underside of the leaf, are the stomata. A single stoma consists of a cavity opening to the atmosphere and two “guard cells.” When the guard cells close, the stoma is protected from the atmosphere. When the guard cells open, the stomata is open to the atmosphere and both air and water vapor can diffuse into and out of the cavity. There is no special mechanical equivalent to “breathing.” Air, as well as water vapor, simply diffuses into the stomata past the open guard cells or diffuses out of the open stomata.

The diffusion of water vapor into and out of the stomata is called “transpiration.” This loss of water vapor through transpiration is why plants need large quantities of water during the daylight hours. The plant has to take up both the water needed for photosynthesis and the water lost through transpiration while the stomata are open.

Watering at night?

Many recommend watering at night, because they believe it saves water, as evaporation from the wet soil is less and because they recognize the plant is less physiologically active. It is true that less water is lost through transpiration at night, because the guard cells are closed, and because less water is needed when photosynthesis quits at night. It is also true that evaporation of water poured onto the surface of the soil is somewhat less at night because it is cooler.

The problem is that wetting the surface of the soil at night usually provides insufficient water to supply the amount which will be lost through transpiration during the day and the additional water requirement needed to supply the hydrogen for photosynthesis.

A better way to conserve water is to supply exactly the right amount of water directly to the roots during the day.

The How-Tos

On a large scale, this is accomplished by drip irrigation – provided the equipment and piping employed meet a standard of manufacture sufficient to prevent water-loss through leaks and failed piping. Such equipment is not found in a hardware store. It is expensive, although the water-saving payout is offset by the reduction in water required.

On a small scale, as in a garden or patio or with large pots of plants, this is usually impractical. When I was involved in testing products we developed through agricultural biotech, we built our own very sturdy copper-line drip irrigation system in the test greenhouse. We used a water flow meter to accurately measure the amount of water used. This was far cheaper than having employees trot around with watering cans.

More useful for small gardens or large pots is a simple length of one-inch plastic pipe, closed at each end with a cap. At the bottom end tiny holes are drilled above and through the cap. Bury this pipe in the soil to the depth of the root ball, so it slowly leaks water directly to the roots and sticks up above the soil to around eight inches. At the top end, simply remove the cap and pour in water to the top once per day, then replace the cap. For a three-foot diameter pot three-feet tall, about one pint of water per day is usually sufficient during most of the year (there are eight pints in one gallon).

A catchment basin should be provided to capture run-off from accidental over-watering. The goal is to adjust the water amount to minimize water in the catchment basin. With this system, one can water at any time, although mid-morning is best. If, during August, you notice the leaves drooping slightly during the afternoon, increase the water by pint increments for the dry period.

This article first appeared in the June 15, 2016 issue of the Rossmoor News, author Wayne Lanier.

garden water with graywater
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GRAYWATER – A VIABLE COMPONENT OF A PERMANENT WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM

While California has seen near-normal amounts of rain and snow this past year, the previous four winters were exceptionally dry. As a result, nearly 90 percent of the state is still suffering drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

“The reality of climate change is that hotter, drier weather will become the new normal in the West,” said Tracy Quinn, senior water policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It’s essential that California implement permanent regulations that build on the conservation we’ve achieved during this unprecedented drought and prepare our state for that new reality.”

Graywater use for landscape irrigation is a viable component of a permanent, sound water conservation program.

Water used for bathing and laundry may go down the drain, but it doesn’t need to go to waste. It can be put to good use for landscape irrigation — safely and legally.

Up to 40 percent of indoor water can be captured and reused as graywater. Graywater is gently used water from bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machines. It is not water that has come into contact with feces, either from the toilet or from washing diapers.

Graywater may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, hair, and certain household cleaning products. While graywater may look “dirty,” it is a safe and even beneficial source of irrigation water in a yard.  Keep in mind that if graywater is released into rivers, lakes, or estuaries, its nutrients become pollutants, but to plants, they are valuable fertilizer. Aside from the obvious benefits of saving water (and money on water bills), reusing graywater keeps it out of the sewer or septic system, thereby reducing the chance that it will pollute local water bodies.  Reusing graywater for irrigation reconnects urban residents and backyard gardens to the natural water cycle.

The easiest way to use graywater is to pipe it directly outside and use it to water ornamental plants or fruit trees. Graywater can also be used to irrigate vegetable plants as long as it doesn’t touch edible parts of the plants. In any graywater system, it is essential to use “plant friendly” products, those without salts, boron, or chlorine bleach. The build-up of salts and boron in the soil can damage plants.

Washing machines are typically the easiest source of graywater to reuse because graywater can be diverted without cutting into existing plumbing. Each machine has an internal pump that automatically pumps out the water which can be used to pump the graywater directly to your plants.

Using graywater:

  • puts less strain on treatment systems and septic tanks
  • reduces energy and chemicals used for wastewater treatment
  • recharges groundwater and reclaims nutrients

Graywater systems are regulated under the California Plumbing Code.  EBMUD offers a rebate of up to $50 per graywater system 3-way diverter valve.

There is growing evidence that graywater systems are an accepted option for landscape irrigation and an important water conservation program component.  Occupants of 11,000 new single-family houses under construction near Tracy will have separate graywater plumbing, with two underground tanks and a recycling unit about half the size of a refrigerator turned on its side.  The system adds $8,000 to $10,000 to the cost of each house, but will be amortized in a monthly bill and partially offset by savings in water and sewer charges.  The water can be used to flush toilets but mainly will go outdoors for landscaping and car washing.  The system does not include toilet, so-called black water, but still can reduce household use by an estimated 40 to 60 percent.

This article first appeared in the May 18, 2016 issue of the Rossmoor News, author Barb Coenen

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Low-Flow Shower Heads As a Model for Reducing Water Use

Around California, municipal water districts have set use limits. For example, in Contra Costa, the East Bay Municipal Water District (EBMUD) declared a stage 4 critical drought and set a target of a 35-gallon daily water use per person. Accompanying such restrictions is usually a list recommending appliances that may be purchased to reduce water use. Unfortunately, the information available to purchasers is usually insufficient for informed decisions.

A How-To Guide

This article covers how to purchase and evaluate a single appliance for reducing water use, the ordinary shower head. I chose it for two reasons: First, a shower is a very personal activity. What I write below is intended to provide any person with rational choices to save water, while showering in a way that is both practical and comfortable. Second, information about shower head rating is simple, but not readily available and sometimes confusing.

The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992 requires that all faucet fixtures manufactured in the United States restrict maximum water flow to or below 2.5-gallons per minute (2.5-GPM). The recent EPA “Water Sense” lowers that requirement to at or below 2-GPM. “Low-flow” shower heads are supposed to operate at or below 1.6-GPM, depending on the water pressure. Unfortunately, labeling of products lags considerably behind the proposed regulation.

A Trip to the Hardware Store

If you go to Ace Hardware, Discount Builders, Home Depot or any specialty bath appliances outlet, you will find that many shower heads displayed provide NO information about how much water is used per minute of shower. Others show ratings in excess of 4-GPM, or a single rating of 2.5-GPM. Very few show ratings in a table pairing flow rate with water pressure. Usually the overall display lacks adequate information to enable you to make an informed decision. Rarely do any of the employees have explanations that are correct, or reflect simple middle-school physics.

Here is why simply turning down the water volume does not work. Water flow rate is a function of both water pressure and the total area through which the water flows. Turning down a conventional shower head with many large holes over a large area results in a “dribble” shower.

Low-Flow

So, what does “low flow” require? First, limiting the total water flow rate without decreasing pressure, by means of a special restriction inside the shower head. Second, greatly reducing water droplet size through very tiny holes. This results in high droplet velocity. Third, focusing the droplet stream into a smaller area. These four physical constraints maintain the physical stimulus and rinsing ability of a comfortable shower, while greatly reducing the volume of water actually used.

Whedon Products Ultra-Saver shower head models USB2C, USB3C and USB4C have detailed flow-rate information on the back of the package. In these tables the PSIG is water pressure in pounds per square inch gauge pressure. In California, most municipal water pressure varies between 60-PSIG and, rarely, as high as 80-PSIG. All of these shower heads are sometimes called “needle spray shower heads.” These shower heads are made of chromed brass, with stainless-steel interior parts. Similar products are made by some other companies, but I did not test those products because Whedon provided the best information.

Typically, the nominal flow rate of the “Delux Ultra Saver,” rated at 1.5-GPM on the front and back of the package, is 1.5-GPM between a pressure of 40-PSIG and 80-PSIG. It comes with a push-button “flow-control” valve built into the shower head and costs about $16. Buying it without the control button only reduces the price about $3. A separate control valve, much easier to use because it can be turned costs about $4. I tested both kinds on my shower. The shower head is at the end of a chrome-flex hose and fits in place on the wall be means of a pin – so it can be used as a hand-held shower or a mounted shower. Now the clever thing about these needle spray shower heads is that the force of the spray and the shape of the “cone” of spray coming out of the shower DOES NOT VARY SIGNIFICANTLY WITH FLOW RATE…! You won’t get the “ultimate pounding” at the lowest flow rate, but it is a very satisfactory shower.

Testing Rates

I tested both configurations by measuring the time to fill a quart measuring cup (a “quart” is 1/4th-gallon). At full flow, both configurations provided 1.6- GPM. The “built-in” control gave a weak shower at half setting and was difficult to adjust. At lower flow settings, the head with separate flow valve worked best, providing a comfortable “shower effect” when turned down to give 1-quart in 30-seconds.

So, now I simply set the control to deliver a measured two quarts of water in about a minute. There are four quarts in a gallon, so this is about 0.5-GPM. This gives me a nice, comfortable five-minute shower that uses 2.5-gallons of water per shower. With warm-up flow, that probably comes to three-gallons per day.

Which, writing of warm-up flow… I set my water tank temperature to deliver water at a temperature which I can endure on the skin of my hand. It is very energy wasteful to set the water temperature higher – and, also, dangerous. This means I use very little cold water in my shower. How smart is it to heat the water, then cool it down with cold water? This speeds warmup time; it also avoids temperature changes when I adjust the flow rate, because the hot water pressure is slightly lower than the cold water pressure.

This article first appeared in the March 02, 2016 issue of the Rossmoor News, author Wayne Lanier

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California Twin Tunnels Project

What is the Twin Tunnels project?

It is Governor Jerry Brown’s grand vision to build a gigantic water conveyance system around the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. The project would consist of two tunnels, each 40 feet in diameter and 35 miles long, buried up to 150 feet beneath the heart of the Delta. The tunnels would convey Sacramento River water to Southern California. The tunnels will do nothing to expand statewide water supplies. What they will do is provide more water to Southern California farms and cities, and Brown hopes they will stabilize water deliveries.The plan originally included an $8 billion environmental component, but plans for salvaging the ecology of the Delta are now largely off the table.

Who Would Benefit?

Corporate agribusinesses as well as the Kern County Water Agency and the Westlands Water District support the Twin Tunnels. These water agencies are located on the dry southwest side of the San Joaquin Valley and provide water to California’s most powerful corporate agribusinesses. These agribusinesses grow and export water-intensive crops such as cotton and almonds. In addition, the oil companies need water for fracking. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange County, etc.) and other Southern California water agencies are also backing the tunnels.

The San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times and Sacramento Bee are among the newspapers opposed to the tunnels.

The environmental community says the tunnels would degrade the largest and richest estuary west of the Mississippi. They say current water being exported to the south is already affecting the health of the Delta fisheries, and Delta farmers question whether the increased diversions around the Delta will keep adequate flows to prevent saltwater intrusion from ruining their farmlands.

Diversion of fresh water from the Sacramento River also threatens the ecological destruction of San Francisco Bay. It would increase concentrations of salinity, mercury and pesticides in the estuary. The current system has already caused drastic reductions in important fish and wildlife populations and overall water quality.

Who would pay?

The proposal has not been submitted to the legislature and there are no plans to have it on the ballot. Brown talks about a $17 billion cost, but this is just the cost of construction. Construction, financing, operation and environmental mitigation is estimated to eventually cost over $50 billion and some say the final bill could exceed $100 billion.

It appears that water districts in central and Southern California such as the Metropolitan, Westland and Kern Water Districts would be responsible for 25 to 75 percent of the debt over 50 years. They are members of the State Water Contractors Association, which has already ponied up some $200 million for eight years of planning. The state needs another $2.2 billion soon to fund engineering and design studies, and it needs assurance that enough water districts will participate to pay the $17 billion cost.

The Contra Costa Water District, East Bay Municipal Utilities District and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission have all decided they want nothing to do with participating in the funding of the tunnels. The Santa Clara Valley Water District has voiced skepticism over both the price tag and the environmental impact of the tunnels, voicing concern that Santa Clara County property owners could be left with property tax increases without a public vote to pay for future cost overruns. Just last month, some of Brown’s top lieutenants came to present their case to the water district board. The district has already contributed nearly $14 million towards studies, and there was talk of their contributing $500 million more.

It appears that the board may be leaning towards discontinuing further support of the project. This would be a blow to Brown because he is trying to claim support for the project from both Northern and Southern California.

The tunnels would burden rate payers – especially Southern California ratepayers-with ruinous debt. Individual ratepayers could expect water bills to spike and stay stratospherically high for at least three decades needed to service the debt.

Corporate agriculture interests would also pay, but at a much cheaper rate. Southern California ratepayers and California taxpayers already subsidize water for Westlands and Kern, and these tunnels would make that subsidy much larger. Finally, California taxpayers could be on the hook for $3 to 5 billion of environmental cleanup and mitigation costs.

Planning for the tunnels is far from complete. However, state contractors have already readied plans to acquire as many as 300 farms in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta by eminent domain to make way for the tunnels. Farmers in areas including Alameda and Contra Costa counties will be given 30 days to negotiate a sale, or else have a forced sale. The farmers are fighting against the construction of the tunnels and are hoping to win.

It was significant that in Brown’s latest State of the State address in January there was no direct mention of the tunnels, a project which is “beset with cost and environmental doubts” (San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 22, 2016).

This article first appeared in the February 17, 2016 issue of the Rossmoor News, authored by Jeanne Thomas.