The workshop was described like this:
Your Water's Worth
Sustainable Household Water Use
Get empowered by this fun and informative Permaculture/ecodesign workshop that'll help you get a grip on water use inside and outside. Inside the house we'll explore domestic water use and a host of easy techniques for minimizing waste of this precious resource. Outside we'll get lit on small scale techniques for harvesting and storing rainwater for reuse and soil percolation, installation of drip irrigation systems, and design concepts to move you towards a more sustainable landscape. You'll be refreshed by the ways seemingly small changes can radically improve our quality of life.
The class was led by Rick Taylor and Trathen Heckman.
We went to a private home and explored the garden. I flirted with Lizzie the kitten and Kona the dog while we waited to begin. Trathen began with an introduction and a 10 minute grounding exercise which included a bunch of Tai Chi. We eventually got to know each other a bit by breaking into groups of 2, talking about ourselves and then being introduced by our partner with our name and a three word Haiku. We talked about the challenges of life, the economy, time, balance, etc. We talked about the value of water. Trathen discussed the overall value, not just monetary value. That was a nice reminder for me because we, at our house, always think of cost first. He discussed the value of keeping water in your land as opposed to letting it flow into the sewers. He said he would give us some tools for doing so.
When Rick arrived, we broke into 2 groups. Rick led us around the house to show us the timer for the drip irrigation system. He showed us his meter. Rick insists that your irrigation should have a dedicated meter and that it should be checked regularly to be sure that you are using your water efficiently. The meter he used would cost about $300 to install. He told us about his timer and that he wants to start using a super high tech timer that connects to a satellite and will adjust according to the weather. He didn't really have any answers for those of us who water by hand. He didn't suggest Ollas or self-watering containers. I don't have a drip system or an extra $300 for a meter. I got a little bored.
When my group went off with Trathen, we went into the house. We discussed the various ways that attendees salvage water in their homes. Buckets from the shower, grey water pipe from the bathtub to the orchard, pasta water on the plants, etc. I joked about my nightmare of dragging a full bucket of water through the house and someone suggested I use a bucket with a lid. I also joked about my old, corroding pipes naturally restricting my water flow thereby saving plenty of water. Trathen showed us a little aerator doohicky on the bathroom faucet which slows water use there. Okay, usable and cheap, finally something. He showed us the dual flush toilet. Handy enough, my Mom has one. He told us to do a whole house audit to be sure there aren't any leaks. One little leak at one drop per second will waste 2,700 gallons of water in a year. That's a lot of water! We did this years ago.
We came back together, talked about the front garden, discussed it's fountain and how much water it wastes, discussed the pathways and how much water they cost to create, the willowwood fencing that no one could actually afford. Rick told us about this lovely little garden and how things are dire enough that no one should be allowed to be so wasteful anymore. And then he told us that he plans to remove some of the plants because they don't look as tidy as he'd like. It's nice to know that we all suffer from the same angst. The fight for truly sustainable beauty is alive and well.
We then sang a song about lunch and Mother Earth and ate lunch. I had a brief talk with Trathen about beekeeping and mostly kept to myself.
After lunch we checked out a big crazy greywater system. It was essentially a little greenhouse with a floor that had been excavated and replaced with baffles, drains, and soil in order to create a sort of wetland filtration zone. Above ground were 5 big barrels making noises like a washing machine. Each barrel held plants, fish, snails, even freshwater clams. The water moves from the kitchen sink and dishwasher into these barrels to be cleaned and then is sent via pipes to some bamboo in the garden. I asked how many man hours went into creating the system and was told it probably cost somewhere between $6000 and $10,000 to create and that it could probably be recreated by 4 men in a week, 160 hours. Rick admitted that this was in no way a cost effective measure. Trathen discussed his greywater system and what he did to get it permitted by the county. Still, no one suggested that you water anything but flowers or orchards with the greywater. Trathen suggested that there are no reported cases of greywater induced illness but gave no more info.
The guys talked about living roofs and how important they are. It was great information but I'm not installing a living roof anytime soon. All in all, I wish I had stayed home and taken a nap. But, I did learn a handy new phrase for something that I think about often:
Embedded Energy: the amount of energy it takes to create something.
I think I'll stick with my own research for a while. Which reminds me that Jonathan and I are doing lots of research on tankless water heaters and recirculators right now and we'll report soon.
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