Month: October 2011

When was the last time you thought of a natural disaster in California?

Natural disasters are seldom thought of in California, aside from earthquakes. Disastrous earthquakes occur relatively infrequently, in fact. For example, the last “disastrous” earthquake took place on October 17, 1989. That was 22 years ago. Other regions of the Unites States, for instance, must endure natural disasters on a seasonal basis. Some regions face droughts much more severe than those we see in California. Other regions deal with tidal surges, hurricanes, tornadoes, or snowstorms. Should California be worried about natural disasters other than earthquakes? According to the Water Education Foundation, Californians should be prepared for flooding.
The Central Valley, ranging from Redding in the north to Bakersfield in the south has experienced serious flooding in the past. Emmy award-winning producer Stephanie Locher has produced a 30-minute documentary called Overcoming the Deluge: California’s Plan for Managing Floods. This documentary focuses on the past, present, and future flood management techniques and strategies of California’s Central Valley. This short documentary will air on Wednesday, November 9th at 7:00 pm; Friday, November 11th at 4:00 pm; and Sunday, November 13th at 6:00 pm on Sacramento’s KVIE Channel 6.
This documentary includes stories from Central Valley residents who have first-hand experience of severe floods. The documentary also features interviews with water experts from the California Department of Water Resources, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Bureau of Reclamation, The Central Valley Flood management Program, and other environmental groups. The goal of this documentary is to educate interested parties about the sustainable, integrated, holistic flood management plan that is being implemented in the Central Valley.
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com
http://www.waterwise-consulting.com

Don’t forget to adjust your irrigation controllers soon!

Don’t forget to adjust your irrigation system to coincide with the seasons. Many people program their irrigation controllers when they are installed, and then forget about them. While this is undoubtedly the easiest and carefree way, this method is also the most expensive and causes the most problems for plants. Plant water needs biologically fluctuate with the seasons-plants both expect and need more water during the dry season than the rainy season. By programming your irrigation controller and forgetting it, plants receive the same amount of water year-round.
The simple fix for this common problem is programming your irrigation controller to water less (if any, at all) during the rainy season. Ideally, irrigation systems water more as the rainy season ends, and peaks around July or August (in California). From then until about November, the irrigation tapers off until the rainy season provides 100% of the needed water.
Another simple fix for this problem is to install a “smart” controller. A smart controller is one that uses local weather data to automatically alter the amount of irrigation. The smart controllers do this by using local weather data from nearby weather stations to calculate the evapotranspiration rates of each plant type your controller is programmed for. Evapotranspiration rates are the amount of water that effectively flows through a plant, which is directly related to the plant’s individual water need. If you are interested, please visit our homepage for more information on smart controllers, and how WaterWise can help you get one for cheaper, with rebates!
Brian O’Neill
boneill@waterwise-consulting.com
http://www.waterwise-consulting.com