How to Conserve Water in Your Landscape Water Conservation Strategies for Affordable Housing Projects Green Affordable Housing Coalition December 8, 2009 Cynthia Gallant, LEED AP, Bay-Friendly QLP Project Landscape Architect Design Community & Environment [email protected] PRESENTATION OVERVIEW • What is Bay-Friendly Landscaping? • BFL Water Conservation Principles • Bay-Friendly CA-WELO • Questions/ Comments BAY-FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING IS… • A program of StopWaste.Org • Comprehensive approach • 7 principles & 55 practices • Updated every 2-3 years receiving local input • Supports policies of local water districts BAY-FRIENDLY RATED LANDSCAPE • Scorecard for Civic and Commercial Landscapes – – Meet 9 required practices Earn 60 out of 219 credits • Scorecard allows flexibility to implement practices which fit the project & promote innovation • Scorecard educates project team on a wide variety of green practices BAY-FRIENDLY POLICIES Member Agency Civic Mandatory Policy Threshold for Covered Projects Private Sector Policies Alameda, County $100,000 Construction Costs Alameda, City $100,000 Construction Costs Albany 5,000 square feet Berkeley 10,000 square feet Dublin $100,000 Construction Costs Emeryville $100,000 Construction Costs Pending Fremont 10,000 square feet Required –BF Basics Hayward $100,000 Construction Costs Required – BF Basics Newark $100,000 Construction Costs Oakland $100,000 Construction Costs & 10,000 sq ft Piedmont $100,000 Construction Costs Pleasanton $100,000 Construction Costs San Leandro $100,000 Construction Costs Union City 5,000 square feet Voluntary Voluntary Voluntary BENEFITS OF BAY-FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING • Less waste • Cleaner water & air • Healthier soils and landscapes • Lower water & garbage bills • Healthier homes, communities and watersheds Case Study (right) resulted in 50% reduction in water use and 20% savings in maintenance costs. (Municipal Water District Orange County Landscape Management for Water Savings) CONSERVE WATER • Bay-Friendly provides a comprehensive approach to water conservation CREATE DROUGHT RESISTANT SOILS Compost is… the product of controlled decomposition and introduces over 1 billion microorganism per teaspoon to the soil Mulch is… any material spread over the surface of the soil to control weeds and retain moisture CREATE DROUGHT RESISTANT SOILS • Required: Incorporate compost to bring soil organic mater content to 3.5% or 1” application • 5% organic matter • STA certification Jack London Gateway, Keller Mitchell &CO. 989 Brush Street Oakland, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation CREATE DROUGHT RESISTANT SOILS Compost Benefits: • Improved water holding capacity • Improved structure & aeration • Increased water infiltration up to 125%• Reduced erosion & runoff • Soils require less irrigation CREATE DROUGHT RESISTANT SOILS • Required: Protect all soil on site with 3” of mulch *CA-WELO requires 2” • Recommend recycled mulch from local organic materials Edes Avenue, Jenny Webber 10900 Edes Avenue, Oakland Habitat for Humanity CREATE DROUGHT RESISTANT SOILS Mulch Benefits: • Reduces weed growth • Slowly adds organic matter to the soil • Prevents soil compaction • Improves soil structure • Increases infiltration • Reduces crusting, erosion & runoff • 2” of mulch can cut water loss by 20% GROW DROUGHT TOLERANT PLANTS • Required: Specify California native, Mediterranean or other climate adapted plants that require occasional, little or no summer water for 75% of all non turf plants • 100% all non turf plants earns additional points Sara Conner Court, Rich Seyfarth 32540 Pulaski Drive, Hayward Eden Housing MINIMIZE THE LAWN • Required: a maximum of 25% total irrigated area is specified as turf with multiple use fields exempted *EBMUD • No turf is specified • Turf is not installed on slopes exceeding 10% 7th Street Housing Affordable Housing Project, Sentient Landscape, Union City IMPLEMENT HYDROZONING • Implement hydrozoning. Group plants by water requirements and sun exposure. *CA-WELO Sara Conner Court, Rich Seyfarth 32540 Pulaski Drive, Hayward Eden Housing RAINWATER COLLECTION, RECYCLED WATER AND GRAYWATER • Irrigation systems are plumbed for recycled water • Rainwater and graywater satisfy a percentage of landscape irrigation requirements Jack London Gateway, Keller Mitchell &CO. 989 Brush Street Oakland, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation HIGH EFFICIENCY IRRIGATION • Required: weather based irrigation controller *CA-WELO • Required: Sprinkler and spray heads are not specified in areas less than 8’ wide *CA-WELO *EBMUD HIGH EFFICIENCY IRRIGATION • Specify equipment with operational distribution uniformity of 80% or greater • For turf areas specify equipment with precipitation rate of 1” or less per hour and operational distribution uniformity of 70% • Design and install irrigation system that will be operated at 70% reference ET *CA-WELO MAINTENANCE • Bay-Friendly Model Maintenance Specification for long term maintenance • Mulch to 3” • Read meter and report water use • Regular checking of irrigation equipment Shinsei Gardens, Charles M. McCulloch 401 Willie Stargel Avenue, Alameda Resources for Community Development CALIFORNIA WATER EFFICIENT LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE (CA-WELO) • DWR requires each local agency to adopt model or local ordinance that is as effective or more effective by January, 2010. • Enforcement responsibility is with the local agency. – Requires documentation submittals • Mandatory for most landscapes – – – Effects public and private landscapes of 2,500 square feet or more Effects homeowner provided residential landscapes of 5,000 sf or more Exemptions are defined in ordinance BAY-FRIENDLY CA-WELO • CA-WELO is primarily a water efficiency ordinance – Public & Private landscapes • BFL Civic Policy in Alameda County is a sustainable landscape Ordinance – focused on civic landscapes. • Bay-Friendly CA-WELO – StopWaste worked with member agencies to create a more holistic CA WELO that reinforces the BFL Ordinance and to remove any contradictions. BAY-FRIENDLY CA-WELO 5 Additional Requirements 1. Compost is specified as the soil amendment, at the rates indicated by a soil analysis, to bring the soil organic matter content to a minimum of 3.5% by dry weight OR an 1 inch application. *BAWSCA-WELO compost is recommended not required 2. Specify California native, Mediterranean or other climate adapted plants that require occasional, little or no water for 75% of all non-turf plants. *BAWSCA-WELO option 80% low water use or natives BAY-FRIENDLY CA-WELO 3. Total irrigated areas specified as turf is limited to a maximum of 25% with sports or multiple uses fields exempted *EBMUD *BAWSCA-WELO option max. 25% turf 4. None of the species listed by CAL-IPC as invasive in the San Francisco bay area are included in the planting plan *CA-WELO and *BAWSCA-WELO strongly discourage 5. Planting specifications and plants indicate that after construction, all soil on site is protected with a minimum of 3 inches of mulch *CA-WELO is 2” *BAWSCA-WELO is 2” and recommends 3” BAY-FRIENDLY CA-WELO • If you adopt the BF CA-WELO You’ve adopted 7/9 of the Bay Friendly Required practices • We encourage you to incorporate these 5 BFL practices into your CA-WELO • For a Bay-Friendly version of the CA-WELO www.BayFriendly.org How to Conserve Water in Your Landscape Water Conservation Strategies for Affordable Housing Projects Green Affordable Housing Coalition December 8, 2009 Cynthia Gallant, LEED AP, Bay-Friendly QLP Project Landscape Architect Design Community & Environment [email protected]