Fountain Valley, CA
(March 16, 2018) - A select group of students from the Saddleback College Department of Horticulture and Landscape Design were successful applicants in Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's 2018 World Water Forum College Grant Program. The students were instructed to develop a project which would enhance water use efficiency through scientific methods and strategic landscape design. In the grant application, students proposed a
Dew and Fog Catchment System (DFCS) as a component of a water-wise park project awarded to the City of Laguna Beach by the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) and the Wyland Foundation.
In 2017, MWDOC entered into a partnership with the Wyland Foundation to implement an Orange County break-away contest in concurrence with the annual Wyland National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation. The break-away contest awards a water-efficient demonstration garden (Pocket Park) to the highest participating Orange County city within the MWDOC service area. Treasure Island, a property maintained by the Montage, Laguna Beach, has been proposed as the 2017 winning park location. The DFCS proposed by students will collect water from dew and fog using pieces of vertical canvas. The water collected from this system would provide most, if not all of the water needed to maintain the Pocket Park.
"I am proud of these students," says Robert Farnsworth, co-chair of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Design at Saddleback College. "This project will broaden public understanding of water use, conservation strategies, and water stewardship on a local and global level. The Treasure Island site is a perfect location to demonstrate this innovative, yet simple technology."
The Pocket Park project, as well as the DFCS component, supports MWDOC's mission to "...promote water use efficiency for all of Orange County" and will serve as a publicly accessible community model for water-efficient landscaping.
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The Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC)
is a wholesale water provider and resource planning agency whose efforts focus on sound planning and appropriate investments in water supply development, water use efficiency, public information, legislative advocacy, water education, and emergency preparedness.
MWDOC's service area includes all of Orange County with the exception of Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Fullerton. MWDOC serves Orange County through 28 retail water agencies.
