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

By: Sarah Bernheim

Good News First:

Weather experts predict Californias 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 doesnt 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. Dont leave the tap running while you brush your teeth. Dont 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 citizens 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