The True Story of how

one California family

reduced their water
usage and continued to
grow food, in the long
hot summer of 2009 …
by Louisa Aronow

Copyright 2009 L. Aronow

 Why??????????????

This is Lake Mendocino, where we get our water,

after two summer of drought.
 I studied how much water do people use at home…...
USA average - 70 gallons/day/person for personal use
(266 liters/day/person)
- 100 gallons/day/person with irrigation
(380 liters/day/person)

City Of Ukiah – 50 gallons/day/person voluntary water reduction

did not include growing food

OUR HOUSE - 44 gallons/day/person from local water district in June

-33 gallons/day/person in July!!!!!!!!!!!!
How did we reduce our water use?

• CONSERVATION
• GRAY WATER
• RAINWATER
We used dish water for flowers in the
garden and shower water in the toilet.

Of course, we
took shorter
showers and
didn’t waste
water in the
kitchen. Water
from washing
vegetables went
outside to the
potted plants.

Carrying water
outside has the
added benefit of
extra exercise
every day!
Planning the garden for water use is essential !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ornamental plants are gradually being replaced by drought-resistant
native plants. We thought about how much food we get for the water used,
and decided not to plant corn or black-eyed peas anymore. We will expand
the winter garden next year, and grow more potatoes and fava beans to
utilize the rainy season

California native
plants have
replaced
thirsty
flowers in this
bathtub.
Some plants didn’t get water and
they weren’t happy.
All veggies got lots of MULCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
 We watered by hand, close to the plants.
No more overhead watering in the sunshine.
 Wonderful Washing Machine Water

• Water from machine is diverted outside

• Only biodegradable, low-sodium soap is used
• Dirty water can be diverted to the septic line if necessary
• No diapers at our house
• This is now legal in most of California!
 In October 2008 we made a ditches near the young
trees behind the house and filled them with woodchips.
Now the dirty washing machine water drains onto rocks,
then flows into the woodchips for the roots of trees to
access. Woodchips filter and clean the water.
 Water from the bathtub goes out to the
woodchip ditches also. The apple tree is happy.
 In November 2007, I heard Brad
Lancaster speak about rainwater
harvesting. His information totally
changed my concept of landscape design
and water use.

He said:
“Turnwater scarcity into water
abundance!” Brad Lancaster, author of
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond
 RAINWATER
In January 2008, we started a super low-budget
rainwater collection system from the roof.
We were very happy with the results!

• You can collect approximately

600 gallons of water from 1
inch of rain on 1000 sq. feet of
roof

• That’s approximately 1000

liters of water from 10
millimeters of rain on 100 sq.
meters of roof
In the summer of 2008 we put in a 2,600 gallon
water tank with filters and overflow areas.
Next winter we’d like to make some
upgrades ….
• Fix leaks in gutters!
• Get more water storage containers
• Greatly expand the winter garden
• Plan the garden with berms and basins
to retain rainwater in the ground for
as long as possible
• Plant more drought-resistant, food-
producing shrubs and trees
 And next summer we’ll need some
upgrades also …
• Get irrigation dripline that
works with low water
pressure, so stored
rainwater can be used more
easily
• Plant garden areas closer to
water containers
• Make a bicycle-powered
water pump to get water out
to other garden areas
Perhaps some of these ideas will
help you save water and grow
delicious food, too!