Word on the street is that we have avoided mandatory water rationing this year! Hard to believe that we went from being told that we would have to cut our water usage by 50% to now being told that we can voluntarily cut back 15% in such a short time, but such is the power of mother nature. We did have lots of rain in late winter, especially up here in the north bay. Some counties in the Bay Area have already mandated 15% rationing and I think other counties in California are having a much harder time than that. But here in Sonoma county, the rationing is only voluntary. Great news. And the news said today would bring a 70% chance of rain. Let’s hope.
So can we do to cut back 15% voluntarily?
- I’m thinking of having a friends plumber husband come over and install a three way switch to our washing machine water outlet so that we can divert water into my flower beds.
- I’m also thinking of taking one part of my flower beds off of a drip line and watering them only with kitchen sink water scraps
- I might just convince Scott to try Dry Farming one of our tomatoes this year
- I’m going to mulch the heck out of everything
How has the water supply shaped up where you live?
I wish I could save all the water we waste doing dishes and showers and all- or better yet I dream of owning a home where I setup a REAL rainwater barrel system and greywater recycling….
For the time being I am experimenting with planting my veggies in self watering containers topped with mulch, and the ‘regular’ containers are a homemade potting soil where I used more coconut coir rather then peat moss, since coconut coir holds alot more water by volume so I’m hoping I won’t need to water as much. *crosses fingers*
As much as I dream of owning enough land to farm my own food here in southern California- I know water rights is a huge issue and always going to be the clincher when it comes to growing food- being utterly dependant on imported water isnt something I want to be. on the long term. Even if I found land with its own well ( rare and expensive) almost all the water tables out here are polluted or contaminated with perchlorate. Boo.
Years of drought on the Colorado River, and below-normal rainfall and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, combined with environmental restrictions on pumping water, have severely reduced the region’s water supply.
Therefore we need to make a conscious effort to reduce and minimize our water usage. Easy things we can do to help save water include fixing leaky sprinklers, installing water efficient shower heads, toilets and sprinklers etc. Check out all the tips on the site and pass it on to fellow Southern Californians!
http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html
What I think is really awful is that grey water systems are illegal here in Oregon. We want to do it anyway.