California's Exceptional Drought: "A Year in Water"

Story contributed by UC Santa Cruz Financial Affairs Department 

Even with the recent rains, California’s drought is so severe that a new category had to be created to describe it: "Exceptional Drought," which is ranked as more dry than "Extreme Drought" and "Severe Drought." In response to this water crisis, the Financial Affairs Green Team is putting forth a year long effort known as "A Year In Water," with a series of events focusing on highlighting conservation efforts, water recycling opportunities, and spreading information about local water sources.

In January, the Green Team challenged Financial Affairs departments to commit to conserving water by taking the Water Conservation Coalition of Santa Cruz County's Water Pledge. Many Financial Affairs staff members rose to the challenge, with 60% of staff participating in the event.

On March 25th, the Financial Affairs Green Team visited the Bay Street Reservoir. This reservoir was demolished in 2006 due to a crumbling roof, but in 2014 two six million gallon replacement tanks were put back into operation to help meet the needs of the city's 90,000 customers. Bay Street tanks are considered a critical emergency supply because they hold treated water, unlike the raw rainwater in the Loch Lomond Reservoir.

The Green Team photographed the site and discussed water issues with the plant's water staff. Armed with this information, they will make a presentation to Financial Affairs to help everyone better understand what can be done to conserve Santa Cruz's precious water supply. April 14th from 12:00pm to 1:00pm at 2300 Delaware in room B290, Elida Erickson from the Sustainability Office will be presenting an overview of how the campus coordinated a response to the drought crisis, achieving its 24% reduction target from the City and communicating water saving initiatives to the users in the campus community.

In May, at the Financial Affairs All Hands Meeting Dr. Brent Haddad will speak about his research, which focuses on Integrated Water Management, Regional Water Management, Water and Energy Policy, Political Economy and Renewable Energy. Dr. Haddad has been at the forefront in educating the public about desalination. The Green Team is also in the process of getting each Financial Affairs department re-certified through the Sustainability Office's Green Office Certification program. Due to their improved sustainability efforts, FAR was promoted from "sprout" to "sapling." Way to go!

The Financial Affairs Green Team looks forward to continued efforts in environmental leadership, collaboration, and education.

Photo Source: http://www.californiadrought.org/drought/current-conditions/

State of the Drought

            Santa Cruz is particularly unique because it relies on rainfall, local surface water and groundwater to secure its water supply.  Its four sources include: surface water from three creeks in the northern portion of Santa Cruz County, groundwater from the Live Oak well system, surface water from the San Lorenzo River, and surface water from the Loch Lomond Reservoir.  No water is imported or purchased from state or federal sources.

           

With passing storm activity in November and December, hopes were high that the effects of 2014’s drought could be diminished as local watersheds were recharged.  However, Santa Cruz experienced no rain in the month of January, calling into question the state of the drought.  The outlook is precarious: March and April are historically wet months, which has the potential to secure much needed water supplies for the rest of the year.  If dry conditions persist, it is possible that the City of Santa Cruz will have to reinstate the mandatory water rationing penalties that were recently suspended.

To see the state of the Loch Lomond Reservoir and weekly precipitation: Click here. 

The “WADR Team”: Water Action and Drought Response Team 

The WADR team! Lauren, Lindsay, Cat and Michael.

 What are we doing to address scarce water supplies here on campus?

            As a team, we're working hard to foster efficient water practices on campus.  We test water fixtures to monitor the water usage on campus, and gather and analyze the data we find to promote and research more efficient practices.  You can find us tabling at events such as last week's successful February Fest or getting involved with the Water Working Group, a collective of different groups and entities on campus that discuss a multitude of issues related to water.

Regional Water Supplies: California

When looking at California’s drought monitor, the situation we are facing seems a bit grim.  Fortunately, there are statewide efforts being made to address the situation with new and innovative approaches.  Take this water challenge to see the cost of different approaches that are being advocated to handle the drought!

Use Your Voice and Drop Your Own Drip!

The Drop Your Own Drip campaign within the Student Environmental Center is conducting a survey about water conservation efforts at UCSC. The campaign aims to use this data to determine possible project ideas for the future.

The input from students will also be shared with the Water Working Group and the Water Task Force. Please take the survey here.

November 2014 Drought Update

During the spring, mandatory water restrictions of 25% were put into place by the City of Santa Cruz to reduce water use during this "exceptional" drought, and UC Santa Cruz has been successful at staying within these reductions since late spring. To achieve this goal, the Water Working Group requested the creation of a student-led team through the Sustainability Office, focused specifically on drought response. Thus, the Drought Response Team was born, comprised of five students: Nataly Dybens, Lindsay Edelman, Marino Hernandez, Elly Martinez, and McCall Williams.

(Source)

This summer, this student team took on the projects of auditing water fixtures, educating the campus through signage, and learning about water in our county. Through their efforts and the water conservation actions of our entire campus community, we have stayed within our water restriction amounts. Congratulations—and keep it up! Throughout the summer and into the fall, the Drought Response Team has inspected 64 buildings’ water fixtures by assessing how much water was being used by sinks, showers, and toilets. Comparing these numbers with expected flow rates, the team members identify inefficient fixtures and have been passing along requests for them to be fixed or upgraded. So far 91 leaks have been repaired, and there are still 40 more buildings to be audited by the team. These simple changes in our infrastructure can save a lot of water.   

In addition to auditing, the team has put up signage in nearly all restrooms on campus with information about how to report leaks, knowing that water conservation is a team effort across campus requiring support from everyone. Perhaps you’ve seen the signs: “Help Out, We’re in a Drought!” The team has also been tabling at events throughout campus to educate our community about water use and sources of water in our county. Most of our water comes from Loch Lomond Reservoir and the San Lorenzo River, which are dependent upon local rain. 

The Drought Response Team has been tabling at events throughout campus to educate, engage, and encourage water conservation.

Despite our achievements in water reductions, the drought continues and some parts of campus are suffering from the limited amounts of water that can be used. For example, East Field wasn’t watered enough early in the summer to keep it alive, and it has had to be re-seeded and left to grow back, affecting sports clubs and teams and others who use the field. The UCSC Farm is also facing challenges in keeping enough of their fields growing to continue all of their important programs and research. Water conservation is still extremely important, and each day we are more and more in need of rain. If you’d like to know more about what the City and community leaders are doing to identify solutions to our water supply, please read this article about the recent water convention and cast your vote! 

These efforts by the Drought Response Team are just some of the many efforts taking place at UCSC to reduce water use, and we will continue to provide updates as the drought continues. It is important to inform your friends, family members, peers, and neighbors about the drought and what we all can do to conserve water. Take this water footprint quiz to learn how you can save more water and encourage others to do the same. If you see a leak or water waste on campus, please report it by filling out a work order online at www.ucscplant.ucsc.edu. If you notice a leak in the residential halls, please report it via a Fixit ticket at fixit.ucsc.edu. 

Questions? Proposed solutions? Concerns? Please contact Elida Erickson at ekericks [at] ucsc [dot] edu.

Facing Mega-Drought, California Will Avoid Defeat

Researchers and scientists recognize that traumatic changes would occur in our great state during what is recognized as dire circumstances. But Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, an Oakland think tank says that mega-drought "doesn't mean no water...it will mean using what we have more effectively." The Department of Water and Power is planning to build a treatment system that would cleanse industrially contaminated groundwater in the San Fernando Valley.
And if conditions continue to worsen, L.A. could ban landscape irrigation completely, using an ordinance already in place. In Los Angeles, it is high time to make the shift from extraordinarily lavish greenery everywhere, and instead embrace the new normal by installing heat and drought resistant plants, desert rocks, and a low-water drip irrigation system that is operated by a controller that measures soil moisture. We must educate ourselves about the possibilities incurred from the drought, and how to go forth and to be more sustainable individuals. Read the Los Angeles Times article for information on the subject.

Saving Water Every Day - Institutional-Scale Compost Toilets

Seminar date and time: Monday, May 19th, 12:15-1:40pm at the Kresge Seminar Room #159

Mention “composting toilet”, and most people will think of something suitable for a summer cabin or a rural residence off the grid---a kind of classy outhouse---surely not something suitable for installation in an urban environment. As one person has remarked, flush toilets are the accepted social standard. The idea of collecting human excrement in a basement composting bin does not exactly square with the modern paradigm of gracious living.

There is, however, more to the story. At this event, Peter Scott, a retired professor of physics a UC Santa Cruz, describes six composting toilet installations of varying types, currently installed for public use in locations in the United States, including three in California. He considers only those for institutional, industrial, municipal and commercial venues, i.e., those for which maintenance can be assured. In his descriptions, he includes comments by administrators, architects and users. As we shall see, every one of these six installations is positively viewed. He also includes answers to frequently asked questions, including discussions of costs and possible legal barriers.

This event is hosted by the Kresge Common Ground Center.

March 2014 Green Tip: Saving Water

As you you've probably heard, California is in a state of emergency over an extended drought. How bad is it? California faces water shortfalls in the driest year in recorded state history. Governor Brown has urged conservation in the state saying, “The more water we use, the less water we have. The more water we save, the more water we have.” 

In the spirit of conservation this month we wanted to share some tips on how to save water. We've organized our tips by the "basic," "progressive," and "hard core" things you can do to make significant reduction in your water use footprint. Can these individual actions add up to enough savings? Shortening showers by 5 minutes can save 12 gallons or more, and turning off the faucet while washing your hands can save 1/2 gallon. If everyone saved a gallon of water a day at UCSC, weekly campus use could be reduced by around 24,000 gallons!

Basic 

• Turn off the faucet while washing hands and brushing teeth (rinse, turn off water, soap up, turn water back on to rinse).
• If it's yellow, let it mellow! Depending upon the flow rate of your toilet, you could save nearly 2 gallons of water each time you let it mellow.
• Reduce your shower length to 5 minutes or less. For an average showerhead with a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute, a 5 minute shower only uses 12.5 gallons of water. Compare that to a 15 minute shower, which uses a whopping 37.5 gallons. 

Progressive 

• If you live off campus consider getting a low-flow shower head and an aerator for your sink to reduce the amount of water that comes out of the tap. These are reversible changes, so even if you rent you can make these alterations. The Santa Cruz Water Conservation office can provide you with these for free! Learn more here.
• Turn the water off in the shower when you shampoo, lather up, and shave. Sometimes called a "Navy Shower," you can conserve additional water with this method during your five-minute-or-less shower.

Hard Core

• One thing you might not have thought about is the amount of water that goes into producing the food for your diet. According to an article in the LA Times, "It takes more than 1,000 gallons of water a day per person to produce the food (and drinks) in the average U.S. diet." The food we eat requires a lot of water to produce, especially the meat we eat. In order to save water, think about skipping the meat once a week or look into alternatives to the meat option at the dining halls. If you're not willing to give up the meat, any amount of reduction can help. Skip dessert one night a week, cut back on the coffee, anything can help!
• You can also use the same dishes twice. Unless you just ate something really messy and smelly you can most likely use the plate you used to eat lunch on, for dinner as well! No need to wash in between!

More information can be found on the National Geographic website here. How do you conserve?