Capturing rain water may help Californians
By Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times
When it comes to water management, California Assemblyman Jose Solorio focuses on three C’s: capture, conservation and conveyance. Of those, the state has been most successful with conservation, Solorio says, but it hasn’t been nearly as adept at capturing rain and snowfall and conveying it to where it needs to be.
In an effort to reduce California’s demand on limited drinking-water supplies and to minimize the amount of polluted storm water that flows into the ocean, Solorio has written AB 275, also known as the Rainwater Capture Act of 2011. Introduced last week, the bill would authorize property owners to install different types of rainwater-capture devices, including rain barrels that could provide water for outdoor gardens and other systems that would allow captured water to be used indoors for non-potable uses, such as toilet flushing.
“California has traditionally relied on expensive and large public works projects to capture and store water, such as dams and groundwater basins and other forms of above-surface water-storage projects, but those projects are large and expensive,” Solorio said. “It’s time we start thinking about what we can individually do in our own residential properties, as well as what businesses might do, in terms of capturing water on property voluntarily.”
California with 20 million people was the golden state, plenty for everybody.
Now with 38 million we are the corroding state with our infrastucture crumbling to dust.
Grab your bucket ala Assemblyman Solorio,
and you will not go thirsty. Way to move forward.
My daughter is a Peace Corp Volunteer in Panama and has just completed a rain water catchment project for her community. You can read about her efforts at http://peaceinpanama.blogspot.com/2011/02/one-about-water.html
If it can be done in Panama it can be done and should be done in California!
Peg, have you ever wondered why people are willing to risk their lives to come to the USA? Your above letter says it all.
Your daughter is to be commended for her efforts to raise the living standards for third worlders.