NATIVE BEE WALK WITH EMIL PETRINIC

When: Saturday, June 24, 2023

Time: 11:00AM-1:00PM

Where: TBD (We're bee scouting this weekend)

Did you know that there are over 1600 different species of native bees in California? And that the Bay Area is a hotspot of diversity?

Join Emil Petrinic and Wholly H2O for a fun and informative bee walk with @HellaBeeNerd We'll get some bee basics form Emil and then head off for a leisurely walk looking into every bloom for native bees.

You can prep for the walk by watching California Native Bee Basics, Biology & Behavior with Emil, a talk on youtube co-sponsored by Wholly H2O and Insect Sciences Museum of California.

More info upon registration. Our events are by donation, but if you need a free ticket, no problem. Just write to us at info@whollyh2o.org to be added.

To sign up for this event, use this link or the "Register" button above.

The Importance of Summer Water Conservation

And how to do it effectively!

Happy June from Wholly H2O! We’re finally halfway through 2023 and summer is just around the corner. But as much as we’ve been waiting for the warm weather to hit, there’s no doubt we’ll be faced with drought conditions and record-high temperatures as the season heats up. With that, there’s no better time to learn about the importance of conserving water! 

Lake Oroville in Octover 2021 / David Paul Morris / Bloomberg / Getty Images

It’s no secret that California has been experiencing on-and-off drought conditions for the past few decades — it is actually quite common here, with droughts having occurred somewhat frequently throughout the past thousand years or so. But that doesn’t mean we have to normalize wasting the water that we do have. 

Recently, the Golden State’s infamous sweltering summers and fiery falls have become notorious examples of extreme weather changes as a result of warming temperatures across the globe, and it’s not looking much different this season. Although California had an unusually intense rainy season this past winter, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently reported that it will likely see warmer-than-average temperatures in the coming months. 

So what does this all mean for the average Californian? 

Besides historic heatwaves and more days in the 90s and 100s, it means that more citizens will need to engage in meaningful water conservation to prepare for and mitigate the harmful effects of the heat. All of the gloomy effects and scary statistics about the summer heat can make combating it seem overwhelming and stressful, but we’ve got a few great suggestions on how to implement water-friendly practices in your home and life. 

The first method of water conservation we’ll be exploring is rainwater harvesting, which is essentially the collection of rain during storms. We’ve discussed in the January newsletter the Bay Area’s problem with stormwater and how it affects watershed ecosystems. For a quick recap, stormwater is basically rainwater that hits the ground and runs into storm drains, where it eventually goes into creeks and the Bay itself, poisoning those waters with various pollutants. In winter and fall, rainwater harvesting can help prevent excess stormwater from entering the drains, and in summers, the water saved from earlier in the year can be used to irrigate plants and lawns, or even in drinking and cooking if properly filtered, saving you money, energy, and of course, water. 

The easiest way to install a rainwater system is to set up large storage cisterns (200+ gallons are best) under gutter downspouts. The best part? You can probably save a lot more water than you think.

Using the rainwater harvesting formula: Roof Area (ft²) X Precipitation Amount (inches) X 0.623 = Amount Collected (gallons), you can determine roughly how much water you could save if you were to collect all of the water running off your roof. To make this calculation a little easier, check out this rainwater harvesting calculator. For the precipitation amount, the general number in the Bay Area would be around 20-25 inches annually. That means with a standard 1,500ft² roof, you could potentially save about 18,690 gallons of water per year! Of course, storing that many gallons of water on a single property could be quite difficult, especially if you're using smaller rain barrels that don't hold as much water compared to large cisterns, but this formula is still helpful for figuring out how much water you could possibly save.

Another rainwater harvesting method you could use to store even more water is by “planting” water, or creating a rain garden. Rain gardens are essentially depressed sections of earth filled with water-loving plants that soak up excess rainwater. You can learn more about how to create one here. While these aren’t as helpful for conserving water during dry periods, using drought-tolerant native plants should prevent the garden from dying out when temperatures get hot. And as a bonus, you can water them with any stored rainwater you have from the winter!

Check out this article featuring Wholly H2O’s very own director, Elizabeth Dougherty, or this rainwater harvesting guide for more information!

Laundry-to-Landscape Greywater System / GreywaterAction.org

Another way you can conserve water in your home is by installing a greywater system. Greywater, or sink, shower, and washing machine drainage (note: this does not include toilet water!) can actually be redirected from sewer lines to irrigation systems that can water your lawn or garden. These systems are legal to install in California, and safe if done by a knowledgeable plumber. 

Greywater systems can effectively reduce outdoor water use, saving you money and conserving some of the estimated 9 billion gallons of water used on landscape irrigation nationwide. Further, greywater systems are relatively inexpensive to install for the amount of money and water they save, with the popular laundry-to-landscape style system (pictured above) costing roughly $700-1000 for both materials and labor combined. Rebates are generally available for those who are interested as well. If your water agency does not offer substantial rebates, you can write to your local conservation department and ask for one, and encourage neighbors to do the same, as rebates are based on customer usage. 

Other methods of water conservation can come at no cost, and merely involve a few lifestyle changes that will ultimately benefit the environment and your water bill all at once. These include reducing your shower times, keeping buckets in your sink and shower to collect excess water for reuse elsewhere, turning down faucet flow, turning off faucets while brushing your teeth or scrubbing dishes, and simply reducing your water use/waste overall. Check out the US EPA’s guide on water conservation for a list of even more ideas!

However, one of the most important things to know about water conservation is how much water you actually use. By checking your water bill, you can view your daily water usage, allowing you to set a goal amount and work towards it. Without properly tracking your water use, making effective water-friendly choices is pretty much impossible, so it's important to stay on top of how much you use to make sure that any changes you implement are truly effective. 

Temescal Creek / Wholly H2O

It's also equally important to build a connection with your water, because this helps you to truly engage with and feel a responsibility to save and protect your water. Without appreciating how water plays a larger role in local environments and ecosystems, it's much harder to fully understand the weight of rising temperatures and droughts. A great way to learn about your local bodies of water and watersheds is taking one of Wholly H2O's WalkingWaterhoods tours which guide you on an exciting, educational journey around some of the Bay Area's local watersheds and creeks, facilitating the formation of deep connections with your water.

In the end, we all must realize that water on earth is finite. All the water that exists now has existed here for billions of years. In this way, all water is technically recycled, and has been recycled over and over again. That’s why it’s up to us to save as much of the precious resource as we can, and get the most out of our gallon.  By putting in the effort to conserve, reuse, and appreciate your water, you can join the invaluable fight to save our environment and protect our water.

Our important (and fun) work takes cash, plain and simple. Will you help us keep our events and yours coming? Please use the link below to flow some cashola in our direction!

Wholly H2O couldn't run without the work of our talented volunteers. We have a bunch of unique opportunities throughout the year, such as podcast producing, accounting, and content editing! Take a look at our Volunteer Match to learn more!

We are especially interested in two roles:

• Two additional editors for Walking Waterhoods tour content
• Videographer and Editor for Watershed expert videos