Executive Care Inc.

September 2009

Those of you that have been following our articles know that we just completed a four part series on “Survival Tactics” for the yard. To review, in May we discussed new products to make our Fescue lawns more tolerant of water restrictions, in June the topic was on two new lawns that require twice a week watering once established, July was about new high efficiency nozzles, and in August we covered correct installation of a drip system. Prior to this, correct yard maintenance was discussed in April, and concepts and principles for a beautiful landscape were covered in February and March. March also included a little about my training. These editorials can be found on Executive Care’s website www.executivecareinc.com.

For the rest of this year, our series will be on “Making the Most of Your Yard.” This month covers “Rainwater Harvesting,” October will discuss Fall landscaping and maintenance, November will provide information about bare root trees and dormant tree pruning, and December, well that will be a surprise. So let’s get into our topic.

If you Google Rainwater Harvesting there are to my surprise quite a few sites discussing product availability. So instead I want to focus on the concept of Rainwater Harvesting. The pictured diagram will help greatly, and make the old adage; “a picture is worth a thousand words,” very true. So what is Rainwater Harvesting? It is a term not often used in the public arena. Let me explain, as landscapers when we add drainage to a home, the drainage is designed to take the water out to the curb. That’s the way it has been done “forever.” With Rainwater Harvesting, this is no longer the case; all the drains instead of taking the excess water out to the street, carry the water into an underground reservoir to be stored and used at a later date. The general concept of storing water is not a new one, it has been practiced for centuries in dryer climates, such as the Middle East. The term that is most used to describe this is “cisterns,” a large reservoir carved out of rock that holds the precious liquid. As those of you who read the Bible know, the term is often used in the Old Testament. So this practice has been with us for some time.

That concept of storing water is becoming more popular in the U.S., especially in localities where water rationing and the cost of water are a concern. Also, those of us that want to be more self-sufficient and environmentally conscience find that Rainwater Harvesting is a move in that direction. “Rain Barrels” are along this same line. They come in different sizes and shapes and are attached to the downspouts of the roof. As it rains it collects the run off. The barrel has a faucet attachment so that the water can be used. This concept is more popular back East where they have frequent rains year-round that can refill the barrels. Here in our climate, where we have a specific season with rain, the barrels are not sufficient, we need an underground storage system that can hold more. Most of us have no idea of how much rain actually falls if we measure it in gallons. I know I didn’t. Take an average roof of 2,000 sq. ft.; a rain fall of 1”inch, if captured, would yield 1,250 gallons of water. That’s a fair amount of water. Now consider our yearly average of 18” inches for Sacramento (www.sfgate.com/weather/rainfall. shtml); that would be enough to produce 22,500 gallons of water. To understand this amount, consider our pools; my pool is about 30’ long by 15’ wide, which equates to about 18,000 gallons. Now if not just the roof is used to collect and store water, but the whole yard’s drainage system is designed to collect, filter and drain into a strategically placed reservoir, it could add up to quite a bit of water. For ease of math let’s say the roof, the back and front yard are the same, 2,000 sq. ft., which equals 6,000 sq. ft. That would convert to 3,750 gallons of water for each 1” of rain that fell. Taking the yearly average of 18” inches, that becomes 67,500 gallons of water, impressive. That’s a lot of water! If you are on metered water, check the water bill to get an idea of how much that is. Now storing this much water may pose a challenge, but it is amazing that with just an average size yard capturing “free” runoff, what it can total. The “water footprint” is quite impressive. Now something more scaled down than most yards could hold, would be an 8′ length by 9′ width with an area 5′ deep. That amount of storage would hold 1,500 gallons of water. So by using the numbers I have given you could actually come very close to determining how much water and storage capacity your yard could support.

Now there is just one last concern. We all know that water can stagnate without aeration and “still” water above ground influenced by the Sun, produces algae. So the water needs to keep circulating, and by marrying two concepts, the reservoir to an above ground water feature; a pondless waterfall or rock spirals we accomplish this, and more. We keep our water fresh and usable for our landscapes, plus an added bonus of having the sound and beauty of water. This is a win, win combination. There are more details to the construction and implementation of this, but the concept and the water storage capability we all have in our yards are the main points I wanted to address. Besides, I have to get ready for work.

As always, I want to thank you for reading our editorials, and the community for supporting Executive Care Landscape Management. Until our next article, good gardening!

If you are a do-it-yourselfer please use this article as a guide, and if you need help please do not hesitate to call Executive Care Landscape Management, Inc. at (916) 765-9040 or visit our website www.executivecareinc.com. Executive Care Landscape Management, Inc. is a local full service landscape design/install and maintenance company.