In partnership with Ecology Action and Santa Cruz Desal Alternatives our December 2011 forum focused on water neutral development. Following the example of communities in the East Bay and San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) recently approved a requirement that water service extensions in areas of aquifer and stream overdraft must result in a net decline in water demand on the system. Santa Cruz County is also drafting a water-neutral development policy.
This forum addressed:
Wholly H2O was part of a coalition of local organizations, Bay Area Water Stewards (BAWS) and San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance (SFUAA), that co-sponsored and supported last Monday's SF mayoral forum specifically targeting issues related to the city's management of its water, urban agriculture and green schoolyard initiatives. While turnout from the public was high, only four of 16 candidates showed up. While the city lauds itself as being at the forefront of these issues, are its mayoral candidates providing vision and leadership on issues surrounding sustainability?
Read more from the candidates' pertaining to their positions on the city's management of water resources, urban agriculture and schoolyard greening.
Thanks to our Board of Advisor member, Sonia Diermayer, Wholly H2O was one of the contributors to the crafting of AB 275, Rainwater Capture Act of 2011. This legislation makes it legal for all Californian's to capture rainwater, thus decreasing stormwater runoff, increasing groundwater infiltration, and offsetting unnecessary potable water use for things like landscape watering. We consider this legislation a no brainer for California, a state whose water sources and their ecosystems are over taxed and under cared for.
Yet, there are bill opponents talking directly to the Governor and asking him to veto the bill. We would like to see as many people as possible contact the Governor to request a signature. Please support AB 275, Rainwater Capture Act of 2011 by writing Gov Brown. While sending an email may be easier, it is more influential to send actual letters.
Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 558-3160
Or on his website where AB 275 is listed as an issue in a drop-down menu.
Low Impact Development is gaining a foothold as cities seek effective, low-cost strategies to better care for watersheds, manage stormwater runoff flows and prevent stormwater pollution. Municipalities have been incorporating LID in a variety of ways—informally, within Green Street Guidelines, as codes and/or ordinances, and now increasingly through Municipal Regional Stormwater NPDES Permits (MRPs). Panelists discussed how LID strategies such as permeable pavement, curb cuts, rainwater harvesting, berms and swales, are incorporated into municipal stormwater management, looking to the past and to the future.
