Where: Ecology Action – Downtown Santa Cruz

Speaker: Bobby Markowitz

Topic: Ecology Action is walking their talk! Bobby will be speaking to celebrate the Installation of a Rainwater Harvesting system at Ecology Action. Call or email Ecology Action for details.

Where: UCSC

Speaker: Bobby Markowitz

Topic: ESLP Student Organization Talk/Discussion about Using Rainwater and Graywater to offset water impacts for potential UCSC Expansion.

Where: MAH - 705 Front St., Downtown Santa Cruz

Speaker: Bobby Markowitz

Topic: TOTAL SITE WATER INTEGRATION: Inside and Outside the Building: How Architects, Landscape Architects and Civil Engineers Can Design Together for Optimum Onsite Water Usage.

With one dry winter behind us and another forecast for this year, local water districts are asking residents to conserve water and looking at ways to increase their supplies, even to the point of building multi-million-dollar desalination plants.

Local landscape designer Bobby Markowitz says the solution lies not in water that has already reached the ground, but above our heads in the billions of gallons of rain Santa Cruz County gets even in a dry year.

“It’s not a new idea — it’s 4,000 years old,” he said with a laugh. “It’s like it’s been rediscovered.”

Rain harvesting, as it’s called, has gained popularity with increased awareness of green solutions, Markowitz said. While his interest began as a part of his landscape business Earthcraft Landscape Designs, it has become both the primary focus and a personal passion. He recently offered lectures and an extension class through Cabrillo College on the subject.

While attending the International Rainwater Harvesting and Managing Workshop held in Australia this August, Markowitz saw efforts that addressed not only garden needs, which he said represent as much as 60 percent of a household’s water use, but also uses inside the home.

He’s particularly excited about new technology that allows homeowners to switch between using rainwater and municipal supplies. It’s in place in Australia and expected to be certified for use in this country next year.

Using this approach, the storage container holding rainwater collected from the home’s runoff is connected into the pipes that fill toilets and washers. A sensor monitors the amount of water in the container, and when it gets low, automatically switches to the municipal water supply. When rain refills the storage container, the sensor switches back to using that water.

“It alleviates the pressure on municipal water supplies,” he said. A 2,000-square-foot roof generates about 30,000 gallons of water from 24 inches of rain, he said. That’s 30 percent of an average household’s annual water use.

Is Rain the Answer?

Just watch the torrents of rainwater cascading down streets and hillsides during a storm and you’ll see where Markowitz thinks we can find the answer to local water concerns.

Rather than letting the rain run to the sea, creating erosion and picking up pollutants along the way, and then going through an energy-intensive process to remove the salt and pump the water back up to homes in the hills, he advocates keeping the water as it falls.

“Think of it as money; think of it as energy. Capture it up high,” he said. “It’s distilled from the sky. It goes through the whole organic process.”

Areas such as Santa Fe in New Mexico have adopted low-impact water development ordinances, he said, in which the goal is to hold all storm water onsite and put it back into the aquifer. Closer to home, Santa Monica has implemented a water recycling program and diverts storm runoff.

He would like to see such efforts undertaken locally, noting that the Scotts Valley Water District and others offer rebates for rain harvesting.

The challenge for homes with smaller lots is where to put a storage tank, he said. They can be housed above or below ground. Interest in rain harvesting has grown exponentially, he believes.

“I was howling in the wind about four years ago,” he said. “Now my phone is ringing off the hook!”

Capture and Use Your Own Private Water Supply, with Planning and Right Equipment

Bobby Markowitz’s clients are often desperate by the time they come to him. Their wells are running dry. Their water is so full of underground muck that it’s damaging their plants. They can’t get water trucked in.

Look to the skies, Markowitz tells them.

No, it’s not a request for divine intervention. Markowitz, a Santa Cruz, Calif., landscape architect, is looking at where water originates – from above.

Markowitz is preaching the gospel of rainwater harvesting, which he sees as the answer to many water issues in California. With proper collection, filtering and storage, there’s no reason why most homeowners can’t have their own private water supply for their yard. “There’s plenty of water, it’s just not captured and stored,” said Markowitz. “Every time it rains, there are millions and millions of gallons running down the streets.”

He insists those millions of gallons could easily be captured and put to use for outdoor water needs. In the pre-industrial age, it was common practice to store rainwater – something that humankind has done as long as it’s had settlements. Fewer than 100 years ago, water became a commodity that came out of an indoor tap, rather than a stream, a well or a rain barrel.

Breaking our dependence on piped-in water is the wave of the future, Markowitz says: “It’s not rocket science.”

Markowitz designs rainwater collection systems for homeowners around the Monterey Bay, and estimates that this comprises 80 percent of his work these days. People are worried about water – especially on the thirsty Central Coast, where lack of water is hindering development of new homes and businesses in Monterey County.

Jim and Carolyn Bowen used to worry about water for their property high in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After drilling several dry wells, and having to resort to trucked-in water for their garden, they turned to Markowitz.

Desperately seeking a solution to their water woes, they brought in Bobby Markowitz, landscape architect for Soquel-based Earthcraft Landscape Design, who is touting a water conservation strategy that is at once groundbreaking and just plain common sense. He calls it “rainwater harvesting,” and the concept behind it is simple: just look up.

“Water is literally falling right on our heads,” Markowitz points out, “and we might as well use it.” Instead of pumping water up from exhaustible underground aquifers or draining surface water, Markowitz focuses on putting the rainwater that already falls onto roofs to work.

At the Bowens’ residence, the rain slides off of their glazed tile roof, into the gutter, and is collected in large storage tanks where the water can be held for at least a year. In only one year, the Bowens collected 210,000 gallons of rainwater from their roof capture system, and the rain that fell on the ground has also revitalized their well.

“It just made sense to capture the water that was already there,” says Markowitz. And while the rainwater can work for most household purposes, he stresses that it’s not for drinking. “Drinking water is put through a filtering system and sanitized with chlorine, which we don’t do,” he says. “But most people use it to irrigate their garden and the plants really to love it.”

The plants at the Bowens’ residence are not just any plants, however. The garden may have found inspiration in Japanese design, but all of the plants are California natives. “Water conservation isn’t just about your source; it’s also about using your water wisely,” says Markowitz. “Native plants are used to dry California soil, so they do well with far less water than, say, a rose garden would.” Installing
an efficient and well-maintained irrigation system is also a very important step in minimizing water waste.

Some cities have seen the benefit of rainwater harvesting and are starting to offer financial encouragement to households who use it. Santa Fe, N.M., is now mandating that commercial buildings and large homes collect and make use of their roof runoff to offset drought.

Locally, Soquel Creek Water District has started offering rebates to rainwater harvesters, and Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley are considering rebates as well.

Anyone can harvest their own rainwater with something as simple as a barrel under a gutter or as complex as one of Earthcraft Landscape Designs’ more heavy-duty capture and storage systems. “Since urbanization, we expect our cities to provide our water, but it’s important to remember that we can have our own independent supply,” says Markowitz. “It doesn’t always work out financially, depending on roof size and rainfall, but even a little is a step toward conservation.”

Bobby Markowitz, the landscape architect who designed the grounds, came up with a plan: Start looking up for water instead of down.

Rather than continue trying to pump water from the ever-dropping aquifer, Markowitz designed and installed a system that would capture rain as it washed down the roof of the home. It would flow through rain gutters, filters and pipes into storage tanks, available for irrigating.

Two-and-a-half years later, the Bowens are flush with water, their landscape is robust and Markowitz is trying to spread the word about the simplicity and success of harvesting rainwater through his Santa Cruz-based company, Earthcraft Landscape Design.

“The key is to try to calibrate your landscape with the amount of water you can pull off your roof, which is way more than people have a concept of,” Markowitz said. It’s hardly a new idea; people have been catching and using rainwater for ages. But it has largely gone by the wayside in the United States, aside from the occasional bucket or barrel on a porch or patio.

Why? Why bother when you can just turn on the tap? Why clutter up your yard with a tank or two? Why use water that might be tainted by dirt, debris or animal droppings?

Because it’s good for the environment, usually easier on the pocketbook, and it’s often doable in ways that won’t offend your senses or sensibilities, Markowitz and other converts say. The amount of water collected depends on a number of factors, including rainfall, storage capacity and the size of the roof (or other collection source). By one estimate, a Monterey home with a roof area of 1,500 square feet could capture about 18,000 gallons in an average rainfall year.

The Bowens have done much better, with a much higher average rainfall at their mountain-top spot, their 4,000-square-foot roof and their ample storage space. They estimate they’ve collected more than 300,000 gallons since it was installed.

“I think it’s so simple and so easy,” said Jim Bowen, a retired electrical engineer. “People have to realize that water is going to be as important (a commodity) as oil. It’s going to get worse.”

On this side of the Monterey Bay, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is trying to encourage rainwater harvesting for non-potable uses through a rebate program. The district may pay
$25 for every 100 gallons of rainwater storage capacity that property owners install, up to 3,000 gallons.

“We’re trying to at least make the public aware of the potential of these systems,” said Rob Cline, a conservation representative at the water district. In some parts of the country, particularly the Southwest and Hawaii, the systems are gaining in popularity and government agencies are moving toward requiring them on new construction.

Until his death last year, William Woodworth, a former member of the Monterey Peninsula water management board, championed rainwater reclamation here. But his ideas apparently have gotten
little traction.

“We think it’s great technology…it just hasn’t taken off like we thought it would,” Cline said.

So far, there have been only three applicants for rebates, including Peter and Anne Thorp, who own a home in Carmel Woods, and Jonathan and Dionys Briggs, whose house is also in Carmel. Peter Thorp built what he calls “a swimming pool with a lid.” The concrete structure measures 21-feet long by 9-feet wide by 3-feet deep. It looks like, and functions as, a deck off the front of the couple’s
home, but inside it holds as much as 4,200 gallons of water.

Thorp, a retired electrical engineer at 3M, designed and installed the system himself. But he said you don’t have to be an engineer to do it. For help, he turned to a book called “Rainwater Collection for
the Mechanically Challenged” and highly recommends it.

Thorp’s system catches some rainwater that pools on the top of the concrete deck, but the vast majority is storm water runoff that rolls down the street along his hillside home. The water flows through a mesh-covered drain at the end of his driveway, through pipes and into the concrete cistern. There’s more filtering, a pump and a means to deal with overflow. From the cistern, the water can be sent to raised beds in the courtyard garden around the front of the house.

The biggest expense, Thorp said, was the concrete deck, which cost about $1,500 for materials. The pump was an old one he had. And he did the labor. The system was only recently finished, so he
doesn’t know what his savings will be on water bills. But he’s satisfied that he’s taken one small step toward dealing with the area’s water situation. “We don’t have a water problem” on the Peninsula, he said. “We have a water storage problem.”

Across Highway 1, in the Rio Vista neighborhood, the Briggses installed an underground, out-of-sight, plastic tank at their home. It holds about 1,600 gallons of water, which they use on their one-acre,
low-maintenance, drought-tolerant yard.

Jonathan Briggs said they put in the tank while doing extensive work on the house and the yard. The building contractor “had never done one of these before but he and I are smart enough about these
things,” he said. “Between the two of us, we designed it.”

The system captures runoff from the roof and pumps it uphill to the underground tank. “Our previous property had a gigantic irrigation system, which was a pain to keep up over time, so I just wanted to keep things simple,” Briggs said. “This system is the way it’s done all over Europe.”

Briggs said the materials cost about $3,000; the biggest labor expense was for backhoe work. But the Briggses got a rebate of about $700 from the water district, and their monthly water bills should
evoke envy. “Our water bills are usually in the $20 range,” he said. “A month or two will be the highest, up into the $30 range.” If he were doing it over, he’d change only one thing, he said: Install a bigger tank.

That’s probably not an issue with the Bowens, who have a tank farm: seven 5,000-gallon containers clustered behind a row of trees that should eventually block them from view. The water courses down the ceramic tile roof of their Japanese-style home, into gutters and pipes that feed a smaller tank near the house. That tank and a pump are hidden beneath a wooden deck that lifts for easy access to the system. From there, the water is pumped uphill to the tank farm for storage until it’s needed for irrigation.

Bowen had been concerned that the electricity cost for pumping the water to the storage tanks would be high, but he said it runs about $20 a month. And that’s a lot less than he’d been paying to keep his landscape alive. He relied on a well to water the property for a time, but then it dried up. He began having new wells drilled but four didn’t yield any water and the fifth didn’t turn up much. Each cost about $30,000. To get by, he also had water trucked in, costing about $500 a month.

Now, the marginal well produces enough for household uses and the rainwater system easily takes care of the yard.

Would he have done anything differently? “I just would have done it sooner,” he said.

Markowitz, the landscape architect, has made rainwater harvesting the main focus of his business. “Rainwater harvesting,” he said, “is a sustainable and efficient use of water.”

Brenda Moore may be reached at bmoore@montereyherald.com or 646-4462.

For more information :

Here are some sources for more information about rainwater harvesting:

* The online “H2O House,” designed by the California Urban Water Conservation Council. Go to www.h2ouse.org/tour/ landscaping.cfm and click on “rainharvest system.”

* The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, which offers rebates for rainwater storage systems.

* The Texas Water Development Board Web site, which has a section on rainwater harvesting, at www.twdb.state.tx.us

* Landscape architect Bobby Markowitz’s Web site, www.earthcraftdesign.com

* The how-to book “Rainwater Collection for the Mechanically Challenged,” from Tank Town Publishing

“How singular, and yet how simple, the philosophy of rain! Who but Nature could have devised such an admirable arrangement for watering the Earth?”

– Ure, from ‘A Dictionary of Thought’

With every project, water conservation, maintenance and drainage are prevailing issues for landscape designers and architects on the Central Coast. Water is an issue from numerous points of view and a factor in determining construction plans, plant selection and costs. In some cases, rainwater may become a problem. However, in the long run, rainwater collection is the solution.

Rainwater collection, otherwise known as rainwater harvesting, is a system where rain is channeled into collection vessels, purified and later used for landscape watering.

Landscape architect Bobby Markowitz, from Earthcraft Design, has tackled these challenges head-on with the spirit and innovation that embodies the history of landscape design in California. Turning a problem into a solution is what designers hope to achieve in their projects.

Carolyn and Jim Bowen’s property offered challenges designers hope to never experience. An acre of exquisite Asian gardens designed by Markowitz, irrigated from a 300-foot well, faced the ultimate challenge when the well water ran out for the second time.

The solutions were few, and the expenses grew with each new idea. But Markowitz had the vision to look up instead of down.

Natural solution

Irrigated by a well-designed system flowing from the sky to the roof, through filters, into collection tanks and pumped efficiently to the drip tubing throughout the sprawling garden — a success story was born. This garden appears in sync with nature, through the bridge established between the heavens and Earth.

Scotts Valley Sprinkler and Pipe Supply is one of the local Central Coast companies that provide products and expertise that are affordable and cover a wide range of applications. Systems can be designed to fit watering needs and budget from the largest remote property to a family residence.

Design and installation can be accomplished by resourceful homeowners depending on the size and complexity of the project. Local area landscape designers and architects with knowledge of available products and technical expertise can provide creative solutions for rainwater collection and irrigation systems.

In larger projects, engineered concrete pads, soil analysis, surveys and permits may be necessary to meet Santa Cruz County code standards. The costs for design and installation depend on the site complexities and the garden’s water storage requirements. Standard 5,000-gallon collection tanks cost around $2,500; 10,000-gallon tanks require concrete pads and cost around $4,800 plus freight. Distribution of rainwater through an effective irrigation system is paramount in the design. If collected rainwater is wasted through excessive or faulty irrigation systems, the project becomes futile.

Richard Shriver, owner of Scotts Valley Sprinkler and Pipe Supply, purchased his Soquel property with a mature landscape collection of trees, shrubs, perennials, groundcovers and lawns covering 50 percent of his one-acre parcel. With an outof-date sprinkler system, watering all planted and unplanted areas of the property pushed the boundaries of imagination.

Through well-planned design, the existing irrigation system is being modified stepby-step with analysis of each specific change. The transition to drip emitters and moisture sensors is projected to reduce water usage by 50 percent. Proper water regulation for specific plant requirements, state-of-the-art weather based controllers, drip emitters, efficient rotating sprinklers and Irrometer moisture sensors will all be installed and evaluated.

Using a rainwater collection system, which is planned, will reduce the current numbers by an even greater amount. Imagine the conservation of water if parks, golf courses and businesses would combine rainwater collection, smart plant design and innovative/efficient irrigation systems.

Simple but effective

The diagram with this story shows the components of a simple home rainwater collection system. Even the leaves and debris can been removed with new products attached to the down spout. Most current roof materials are compatible with collection requirements. However, check with the appropriate roofing experts on your specific situation.

When assessing the advantages of rainwater collection systems, look no further than the numbers. In our Central California winters with average rainfall, a 2,000-square-foot roof can provide well over 20,000 gallons of rainwater runoff. The amount of water a homeowner uses to irrigate lawns and gardens varies greatly with lot size, plant requirements, soil types and climate. But estimates on average outside water usage can be made.

Ron Duncan, Conservation and Customer Field Service Manager from the Soquel Creek Water District, estimates the amount of water consumed on an average residential lot to be 33,000 gallons per year for outside use. Soquel Creek Water District offers rebates for rainwater collection systems based upon storage capacity. “Rainwater collection raises our consciousness,” says Duncan.

Statistics show faulty and poorly designed irrigation systems are the number two water waster in the home. Toilettes are number one.

Rainwater collection systems can also resupply low-water-level wells and aquifers from properly tested and monitored systems. Filtration and adherence to water quality standards is the key. Retention ponds with bio-filtration, an attached bog systems of plant and natural filtration materials supplied by rainwater collection, create and maintain wildlife habitat systems while addressing surface water runoff issues.

Linda and Richard Goldberg’s residence off Summit Road faced challenges in their landscape design and installation. A recently cleared hillside of scotch broom with a 40 percent grade, posed runoff problems for the creek below their property. Markowitz’s plan this time was for a 10,000-gallon rainwater collection system installation. Seasonal overflow channeled into a retention pond and filtration system through a dry-creekbed feature, blend seamlessly into the hillside. Collected rainwater provides the summer irrigation for an Australian and native plant palette designed to stabilize the soil on the hillside.

The result is a beautiful mountain garden retreat with appropriate plantings, a well-designed irrigation system and protection for the creek.

Rainwater rinse

Specialty plant growers and collectors have known for years the benefits of rainwater collection. Vicky Smith, a lifelong orchid collector in Scotts Valley has installed a collection system made from standard plastic garbage cans to rinse the tap water minerals from the roots of her prized orchids. Better than a home-built system using garbage cans, 100- and 200-gallon collection tanks with the appropriate plumbing fixtures and screens are available for between $300 and $400.

Modular subsurface collection cisterns are available from Pondsaway, Inc. in Santa Cruz. These subsurface extruded plastic boxes are perfect for hiding the storage vessels from view. Landscape plants benefit from the ability of rainwater to ”percolate into the soil and force salts down and away from the root zone area providing for stronger root growth and water uptake thus increasing the drought tolerance of the plants” says retired Extension Agent Patricia H. Waterfall, from the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Science Cooperative Extension.

Organizations such as American Rainwater Collection Systems Association offer training and continuing education for members on the growing range of applications and products.

“Rainwater collection systems, when coupled with efficient, well-designed irrigation systems, are affordable,” says Shriver. “They provide substantial savings while addressing the issues of surface water runoff and over-consumption.”

Using lessons from history and having a deep connection to nature, eco-friendly designers and manufacturers help us understand the importance of rainwater collection, conservation, smart irrigation practices and earth-friendly solutions.

With the potential of a dry year on the horizon, Valley residents and government bodies alike are again considering the best ways to conserve water. And some homeowners have found low-tech, old-time ideas to help irrigate their gardens while avoiding the purchase of expensive municipal water supplies. In fact, one source of residential irrigation water is as old as the skies — rainwater.

Rainwater harvesting involves catching run-off from a roof and filtering it into storage tanks for irrigation and other non-potable uses. Several local companies are offering supplies and expertise, and have already put a number of residential systems in place.

According to Ken Foster of Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping, these days there is increasing interest in so-called “catchment” or “rainwater harvesting” methods in Santa Cruz County. “I call it the new urban watershed,” said Foster, of using catchment systems like the rainwater ones he installs. “We’re taking responsibility for the water on site.”

Landscape architect Bobby Markowitz of Earthcraft Landscape Design sees the benefits in terms of independence. “Having your own rainwater catchment gives you independence. It allows you to keep your plants watered [in any conditions],” he said.

Markowitz, a UCSC alumnus and landscape professional since 1977, has designed many rainwater systems in the area. He says that people are often not aware of the “massive amounts” of water that come off their roofs. According to him, 10 inches of rainfall on a modest 1,000-square-foot building will yield 6,000 gallons of water.

In the Scotts Valley area, where average annual rainfall is 41 inches, a 10-inch rainfall is easy to come by. “Even if each home only saved 1,000 gallons, you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of gallons that can be saved,” Markowitz said, of the technology’s potential for county-wide conservation. “That’s how they solve the water crisis here.”

Rainwater Harvesting — Tanks and Filters

Scotts Valley Sprinkler & Pipe Supply is one local business that’s gearing up to supply catchment equipment. “We’re just now introducing rainwater harvesting,” said store manager Brenny Lutz. “We start right at the top, from filters that would go into your gutter to keep debris out, down to a range of storage tanks.”

Scotts Valley Sprinkler offers above-ground tanks with capacities from 100 gallons (or less) up to 5,000 gallons. The company doesn’t do installation, but leaves that to landscape experts like Markowitz or Foster.

Markowitz will lead a number of one-day seminars on rain harvesting at the Scotts Valley store, starting Sunday, Apr. 22 at noon. There is no charge for the seminars, but because space is limited, anyone interested in participating is asked to call the store (831-438-6450) to reserve a spot.

Underground Tanks Possible

A new local company, Rain Source Water (a division of Pondsaway), has come up with a way to put rainwater storage tanks underground, saving yard space and keeping them out of sight. Previously, underground storage tanks ran the risk of collapsing when empty. Rain Source’s modular inserts solve this problem.

The cost of either rainwater system varies depending on the tank size and how extensive an irrigation system is.

Is a rainwater-harvesting system cost effective?

“Over time, absolutely,” said Foster. He noted that water prices may continue to rise as the supply grows scarcer.

For Foster, Markowitz, and others involved with rain harvesting systems, however, the bottom line is not simply a dollar figure. They value independence and water conservation as well as keeping the water we have free of pollution. According to Foster, it’s about “taking care of this precious resource of water. The last thing we want,” he concluded, “is to send water into the gutter, collecting pollution all the way to the bay.”

Bobby Markowitz offers more information at his Earthcraft Landscape Designs website www.earthcraftdesign.com or by phone (831-475-9355).

Scotts Valley Sprinkler’s website is www.svsprinklerandpipe.com