jesse abraham boyd - green technology€¦ · subdivisions as proposed by powell . western state...
TRANSCRIPT
A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure. It offers a necessity of life that must be rationed among those who have power over it.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes New Jersey v. New York, 283 U.S. 336,342 (1931).
John Wesley Powell 1869 and 1871-72 Expeditions
Western Water-Management and Political Subdivisions as Proposed by Powell
Western State Boundaries as Drawn
Guadalupe Hildalgo, 1848
1849
California Statehood September 9, 1850
Surface Water Rights in California Riparian ó Recognized because early California law was based on
East Coast law, which in turn was based on English common law. ó Property adjoining streams entitled to reasonable use
of water on that property only. ó Cannot be lost due to non-use (in theory). ó Correlative - shortage shared among riparian owners.
Surface Water Rights in California (cont.)
Surface Water Rights in California (cont.)
Appropriative ó Arose from court decisions confirming the practices of
miners during the Gold Rush. ó First-in-time-first-in-right (no sharing of shortage). ó “Beneficial use” is the basis, measure, and limit of the
right. ó Use-it-or-lose-it. ó Water can be used anywhere (need not be adjacent
property).
Surface Water Rights in California (cont.)
Prescriptive ó Acquired by adverse possession. ó Can only be awarded by a court as part of a water-
rights adjudication. ó Very fact-specific (and very rare). Pueblo ó Extension of Spanish and Mexican law. ó For city or town needs and non-transferable
Groundwater “Rights” in California Reasonable and Beneficial Use ó All landowners (in unadjudicated basins) may dig a
well and extract water as long as it is put to reasonable and beneficial use. ó No priority date. ó No limit on amount as long as use is reasonable and
beneficial. ó Correlative
CAL. CONST., art. X, § 2 (emphasis added) It is hereby declared that because of the conditions prevailing in this State the
general welfare requires that the water resources of the State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable, and that the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented, and that the conservation of such waters is to be exercised with a view to the reasonable and beneficial use thereof in the interest of the people and for the public welfare. The right to water or to the use or flow of water in or from any natural stream or water course in this State is and shall be limited to such water as shall be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served, and such right does not and shall not extend to the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use or unreasonable method of diversion of water. Riparian rights in a stream or water course attach to, but to no more than so much of the flow thereof as may be required or used consistently with this section, for the purposes for which such lands are, or may be made adaptable, in view of such reasonable and beneficial uses; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as depriving any riparian owner of the reasonable use of water of the stream to which the owner's land is riparian under reasonable methods of diversion and use, or as depriving any appropriator of water to which the appropriator is lawfully entitled. This section shall be self-executing, and the Legislature may also enact laws in the furtherance of the policy in this section contained.
Regulatory Agencies State Water Resources Control Board ó Vested with State’s adjudicatory and regulatory functions
related to “water rights, water quality, and safe and reliable drinking water.” CAL. WATER CODE § 174.
Department of Water Resources ó Manages water deliveries and allocations through state-
owned projects (e.g. California Aquiduct). CAL. WATER CODE § 123. ó Must apply to SWRCB for permits like any other water user.
Disincentives to Conservation in the Law
Surface Water ó The use-it-or-lose it nature of appropriative rights, and
the potential for unused riparian rights to be adjudicated a junior priority date, encourage excessive, uneconomical, and environmentally harmful water use.
Groundwater ó Tragedy of the Commons: Rational individual users of
a shared resource (e.g. groundwater) acting according to their own self-interest will deplete that resource to the harm of the public good.
Law Ignores Hydrological Connection between Ground and Surface Water and Makes
Underground Storage Unworkable Outside of Adjudicated Basins
SGMA Basins
County Lines
Existing Projects
Urban Use Should 20% of the use continue to cause 99% of the
controversy?
A portion of 20,000 acres of Delta farmland recently purchased by the Metropolitan Water District.
Kirstin Weeks, LEED AP, CEM, GRP Building Ecology Specialist Arup
CARVED OUT OF THE WATERSHED - EAST PALO ALTO’s WATER CRISIS
In the midst of drought, some people should be using more water…
?
Options for EPA • Obtain water from neighboring towns • Conserve • Reinstate/dig wells • Get creative with collection and reuse to generate
credits
A watershed approach!
HOW WE GOT HERE
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• HISTORY OF LANDSCAPES • MWELO BACKGROUND
• OBSERVATIONS
• WHERE THE PROBLEMS LIE
• WHERE TO GO FROM HERE
TRANSPLANTED LANDSCAPE DESIGN
• PLANTS AND DESIGN LEGACY COMES PRIMARILY FROM NORTHERN EUROPE
• LANDED GENTRY- MEGA MANOR LANDSCAPES
• EARLY COLONIAL & 19TH CENTURY - MANOR LANDSCAPES
• CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPES- MINI MANOR LANDSCAPES
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E U R O P E A N PATRONS
Louis XVI of France Maria Theresa of Austria Charles I of England
E U R O P E A N DESIGNERS
Nicholas Fouquet - France John Nash - England William Talman - England
E U R O P E A N M E G A – M A N O R L A N D S C A P E S
C O L O N I A L M A N O R L A N D S C A P E S
19TH C E N T R U R Y M A N O R L A N D S C A P E S
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T R A D I T I O N A L C A L I F O R N I A R E S I D E N T I A L L A N D S C A P E
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WESTERN UNITED STATES LANDSCAPES
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DROUGHT CHANGES EVERYTHING
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California Water Conservation Legislative Background
1990 – AB 325 Water Conservation in Landscaping Act required DWR develop a Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance. 1993 – Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Ordinance) took effect January 1, 1993. 2004 – AB 2717 Landscape Task Force convened and developed 43 recommendations. 2005 – “Water Smart Landscapes for California” report released from Landscape Task Force 2006 – AB 1881 Water Conservation in Landscaping Act directed DWR to update the Ordinance
Key Deliverables Required by AB 1881: • January 1, 2009 – DWR shall adopt the updated Model Ordinance. • January 31, 2009 – DWR shall distribute the updated Model Ordinance. • January 1, 2010 - Local agencies shall adopt the Model Ordinance or one that is “at least as effective as.” • January 31, 2011 - DWR shall submit a report to legislature on the status of adopted ordinances by local agencies.
Other related items: • 2008 – Water purveyors will be required to separate landscape water meters for new development with landscaped area greater than 5,000 square feet; excluding single-family homes. • 2010 – CEC is directed to adopt performance standards and labeling requirements for landscape irrigation controllers and moisture sensors. • 2012 – Sale or installation of irrigation controllers or moisture sensors will be prohibited unless the equipment meets the requirements adopted by CEC.
Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance Water Use Classification of Landscapes Species (WUCOLS) and Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance – (MWELO)
• WUCOLS Developed Landscape Coefficient to Estimate Landscape Evapo-transpiration for 1,900
species of trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, perennials and biennials based on regions • MWELO Applies WUCOLS plant data when designing landscape along with irrigation efficiency standards. Two step process: 1 - Maximum Applied Water Allowance Calculation OR
MAWA = (Eto) (0.62) (0.7xLA)
2 - Estimated Total Water Use Calculation equals plant water use x plant factor area ÷ irrigation efficiency OR ETWU = (Eto) (0.62) (PF x HA/IE)
2 must be less than 1
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KEY FACTORS THAT IMPACT WATER USE EFFICIENCY AND PLANT HEALTH
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• Plant water requirements: High or Medium or Low • Soil characteristics: heavy clays or loams or sand • Water application: overhead spray or overhead stream rotor or drip or drip tubing • Micro-climate: east, south, west, north or special exposures such as parking lots or car engines
AUDITOR ASSESSMENTS OF PROJECTS
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General Observations on why projects fail
Lack of construction knowledge. Inability to read or follow plans Lack of understanding of MWELO Lack of irrigation differences between product Formal training for field workers not in place
Specific Reasons why projects fail audits Incorrect nozzles Incorrect drip emitters Wrong controller with no weather sensor Incorrect spacing of heads Missing pressure regulators Depth of subsurface irrigation is not correct and much more.
First time audit reviews have a 40% failure rate Generally projects will pass on the second review Some audit reviews have taken as many as four times before it passed.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE
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• Raise the knowledge level for personnel reviewing plans and for post construction review • Include MWELO information in the landscape contractors licensing exam • Include irrigation design in the landscape contractors licensing exam • Establish a new State professional license for Water Manager • Require a permit for installing landscape and irrigation for projects greater than 2,000 s.f.