Reading List and Resources for Sustainable Water

Handout from Water Saving Strategies Lecture at Saddleback College; somewhat cryptic: http://nativesanctuary.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/water-saving-strategies-handout.doc

Mulch Suppliers that deliver:

Soil and Sod, Pacoima, 818-686-6445

Foothill Soils, Sylmar, 661-254-0867

 

Rainwater catchment supplies from Gardeners Supply (also upscale but small tanks):

Easiest gutter diverter for homeowner rainwater catchment applications

Tanks (Tank Depot) choose tanks that ship from CA. Also sells first flush systems. Etanks is another option.

California Native plants that can be used as lawn:

Carex praegracilis: Clustered Field Sedge, more runner-forming and faster cover than Carex pansa, which is also sometimes sold as a lawn alternative.

Festuca rubra: Red Fescue, the lumpy lawn, requires much more water than above, but easily available in conventional nurseries.

Bouteloua gracilis: Blue gramma grass is also very lumpy, looks like a bluer Bermuda, great for desert/hi-elevation applications.

Books and other resources:

Shawna Dark et al,  Historical Wetlands of the San Gabriel River   I believe this is the newest link to the above research showing how dewatered the landscape of the San Gabriel River watershed has become in the last 100 years.

Art Ludwig

You can buy books, plumbing supplies, etc. from this website, http://oasisdesign.net/. Reading the articles on the website is an education in water storage and reuse. The only source of salt-free dish and laundry cleanser that I am aware of, "Oasis Biocompatible." Remember, all "natural" or "biodegradeable" detergents contain Sodium as a major ingredient, thus are bad for your soil.

Ludwig, The New Create an Oasis with Grey Water, Oasis Design

Ludwig, Builder's Grey Water Guide, Oasis Design

Ludwig, Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, and Ponds for Domestic Supply, Fire and Emergency Use--Includes How to Make Ferrocement Water Tanks, Oasis Design

Brad Lancaster,

Another excellent resource for water use.

Lancaster, "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands" Vol 1 & 2, Rainsource Press

Vol. 1 is overview, Vol. 2 is earthworks

Mollison, Mia Slay, "Permaculture: A Designers' Manual," Tagari Publications

Hemenway, "Gaia’s Garden," Chelsea Green, especially good for theory of constructed wetlands