Fire-wise and Water-wise California Drought Strategies for the Central Basin Homeowner

							Fire-wise and Water-wise California
Drought Strategies for the Central Basin
Homeowner
By: Sarah Bernheim



                                                      Good News First:

                                                      Weather experts predict California’s long drought
                                                      may end. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
                                                      Administration, NOAA, reports 15 different
                                                      forecast models indicating a moderate to strong El
                                                      Nino pattern in place by December 2012. El Nino
                                                      is a reliable procession of Pacific storms tracking
                                                      across the southern portions of the continent on
                                                      strong jet stream currents. Bad news is the
                                                      weather doesn’t always agree with the
                                                      weathermen. More bad news is: very often when
                                                      it rains during El Nino it pours. Too much of a
good thing is a flash flood.

If El Nino Is Late:


• Repair and time your irrigation system, as well as baths and showers.
• Invest in high-efficiency appliances and low-flush toilets.
• Create gardens with drought-tolerant native plants.
• Recycle greywater.
• Don’t leave the tap running while you brush your teeth.
• Don’t play with fire.
• Keep on conserving, and pray for rain.

When Storms Finally Come:

Remember: runoff is part of the hydrologic cycle. Natural or not, flash floods can overwhelm water
treatment plants. Heavy rains wash agricultural and industrial pollutants into the water supply and leach
road and landfill toxins into the storm drain system. Ultimately toxic water flows downhill, either toward
the sea or through the ground back into the aquifer. Central Basin and the MWD control and catch all
they can, and are doing their part for storm readiness, prevention, and recovery.

The Homeowner Can Prepare As Well:

Make sure your house numbers are visible for emergency workers. Be both water-wise and fire-wise:
create a clear zone around your home using non-resinous native plants and grasses whose tough deep
roots prevent soil erosion without washing out; they also resist wildfire.

Rainwater Harvesting:

Some homeowners and businesses are installing rain barrels, bioswales and rain gardens to catch roof
water. Swales slow or divert runoff from overwhelming storm drains. If you have pavers for a patio or
use mulch and stone for paths be sure the weed block below them is air and water permeable. Use
permeable pavements in your driveways as well. Solid pavement increases runoff and fosters flash
flooding.


Rather than Water and Mow a Greedy Grass Lawn:

Consider synthetic turf such as the city of Bell Gardens has installed on the soccer field at John Anson
Ford Park. Synthetic turf is permeable so rain can pass through, feels and wears like real grass, yet needs
no expensive irrigation in times of drought.



Water for Life:

A healthy and adequate water supply stable and sustainable through drought and flood is not a new
idea. It is an attainable goal. It is every citizen’s challenge. Groundwater recovery, or recharge, as well as
protection of its purity assure safe and reliable water for the Central Basin now and in the future, while
lessening dependence on expensive imported water from the San Francisco Bay / San Joaquin Delta and
the Colorado River Aqueduct