Graywater in Santa Cruz

Probably few people can deliver a perky introduction to the subject of graywater and residential codes, but Sherry Lee Byran pulled it off last night at Ecology Action's September Green Drinks.

Officially, Ms. Bryan is Senior Program Specialist, Pollution Prevention/Zero Waste Group at Ecology Action.   Last night she explained that, with a 3rd year of drought and a snow pack 39% below normal this past spring, California had the impetus to revise and approve a graywater residential code in just 6 months and put it into effect August 4.  (It may be revised.)

What does this mean for us?  A more sustainable and efficient way to water our gardens and foilage.

Graywater, by California's legal definition, explained Bryan is everything but blackwater (toilet) and not dishwater water, i.e. laundry, bathroom sink, showers are all fine.   (Dishwater is barred because it can contain fats and animal products. )

For single source applications (i.e only laudry or only shower water ), residences may use graywater for plants by labeling the line and being sure it enters the ground 100 feet from the house (avoid backflow) and 2 inches deep .   That's just about it:  No Permit required!  Bryan stressed, in her entertaining way, not to use boron soaps, no salts, no bleach (toxic to plants), or bloody shirts and keep the water away from root crops like carrots.  The law requires that graywater and storm water never mix.

For irrigation, drip-irrigation or more complex systems, Bryan encouraged using a professional and that a permit is required.  (Currently the County is deciding how to award permits:  start with Environmental Health)

The code is here.

And before anyone time to reach for another beer  (or nod off), she finished.   Good job and good job for California for taking an important step toward efficiency and sustainability.  But now it is up to us.


More Links:
Sherry Lee Bryan


Graywater Research & Advocacy
http://www.greywateralliance.org

Green Drinks
www.greendrinks.org


Graywater Research & Advocacy
http://www.greywateralliance.org

Freedom Lake - Problem or Challenge?

Freedom Lake is choking with an invasive plant, water hyacinth, writes Supervisor Ellen Pirie (Mid County Post, August 28).   Called Corralitos Lagoon by Google, here's what it looks like! (Zoom in, shift to left)


View Larger Map

Supervisor Pirie details the 5-year efforts, and frustrations, to obtain the funding  or grants for the clean-up.  But short of funds, the County staff has worked hard to investigate several  lower cost alternatives, which unfortunately are not suitable either,  as Pirie explains clearly.

She concludes:

"In summary, there are no quick, simple or cheap solutions to the water hyacinth problem at Freedom Lake.

The successful, long-term restoration of Freedom Lake will take several years, the combined effort of multiple agencies, and a lot of money."

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I am not a biologist and have never even seen the lake.   So ask this in the spirit of cooperation, not any kind of criticism, and for purpose of discussion and an illustration: 

Could one get in a boat and pull out some of the invasive plants?


What I am trying to suggest, again in a gingerly fashion, is that sometimes in this country there is a bias toward using equipment, technologies, consultants, even courts, i.e. capital expensive "solutions" to solve problems.  I have lived in a country which can get things done very quickly with little very limited capital.

If not this project, surely the Santa Cruz has 10 others than might be solved by pooling the creative talents of our citizens and communities to explore more possible solutions, albeit possibly resulting in a more labor-intensive solution.


Could Cabrillo/UCSC students take a closer look, with a faculty member?  Could we train several agricultural workers to manage the Lake (green jobs)?  Could a school adopt the Lake on an ongoing basis, with the understanding that the County should reimburse the school in another way.

With a name like Freedom Lake and all of 25 acres, we must take this challenge and succeed.

Here is the full article: 

Historical Background
http://www.corralitoshistory.com/five_mile.html

Sierra Group interest:
http://ventana.sierraclub.org/conservation/local/freedomLake.shtml

Redwoods, Gasoline Powered Bicycles in Santa Cruz

Today at UCSC the long planned and litigated felling of several redwoods began, to make way for a new building.

Even a non-treehugger can not avoid feeling some silent emotion to see a majestic tree humbled by man.  We sang about redwood forests in Kindergarden, in a simpler, more optimistism era.  But it would take 40 more years before I actually saw one, and even longer to come to appreciate the the tree, the land, the mist and the climate and a special relationship among them all.

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There seem to be a growing number of bicycles outfilled with gasoline-powered engines in Santa Cruz.   Half bicycle, half motorized vehicle and 100% noise and pollution - can Santa Cruz ban these things pronto?  They don't belong here or anywhere.

Bloggers on Local Government Environmental Policies

For bloggers who follow their local governments environmental policies and actions, I would like to know:

• How do you work with local government, staff, commissions as well as local non-profits, newspapers, etc?  How do you get information?
  
• What do you find the right distance to be, so neither too cozy nor too abrasive?
• How do you view your mission?   Are you reporter, critic, activist, publicist,watchdog?
• Who is your primary audience?  Local government, local population, environments?

Is there such a thing as "strike team", an informal, national/international, multi-disciplinary team who can take a quick look at given proposed local strategies or initatives and just compare these to successes/failures in similar communities elswhere?   We don't want to keep re-inventing the wheel.   The "team" might be biologists, renewable energy engineers, industrial ecologists, environmentals, etc.