Ways to Conserve Water in California
Living in California, from the get-go we learn many ways to conserve water. We’re always thinking of the possibility of having a scarcity in water. So, some of the ways that we deal with it are through using native plants, which people refer to as xeriscaping.
Xeriscaping is the process of designing outdoor plants using native plants. This includes native landscaping. This process helps to conserve water. These are the lead processes in the CALGreen process. That includes codes and requirements from the state of California. These codes demand us to think from the perspective of conserving water. For instance:
- Using plumbing fixtures that conserve water
- Being able to recycle stormwater
Water-Efficient Facilities
We have facilities that are very very efficient in their consumption of water. The best way to address this issue is to have a consciousness about how you are using that water. Also, it pays to develop a consciousness that shows how water is such a precious resource that we waste all the time. And being able to have an attitude of how to conserve that water. This is also very important for every architect.
Here at DevelopmentOne, we’ve been thinking that way for a very long time, even before the codes existed. We thought that was the right thing: to be able to design in a way that we could conserve water. Also, there are standards like CALGreen for example. It is a rule in the state of California that presents the codes and requirements to be able to conserve water. Moreover, it is the right thing. Before that, it was LEED that was at the forefront of making these requirements.
Facilities We Have Designed
We design a lot of facilities following the requirements of LEED. We also design facilities under the requirements of CALGreen. Now it’s not even an option. It is a rule to be able to use these and also to conserve water. Which is a good thing! In fact, it is good for not only the state of California but also for our environment in general.
There are facilities that we’ve designed where we also used recycled water. We do have retention ponds in some areas too. Moreover, we do try to conserve the water that the building captures. But it isn’t quite there 100% to be self-sustaining.
Future Ways to Conserve Water
There are some ideas and thoughts in the works which are also very interesting. In some areas in Africa for example, they take advantage of capturing the morning dew that comes in. It’s amazing how much water they can also keep through these contraptions. Some look like trees, and they capture the marine layer that comes in. These structures are able to capture and conserve the water and then they are able to catch it into different basins. That is one way to look at it. Also, being able to capture stormwater helps. To be able to keep that, and to filter it back into the aquifers is something we already do here in California. We’ve been doing it for many many decades, but that is something that a lot of people don’t know.
