[cg] Fwd: Re: rainfall catchment.

**L* B* <B*@ag.arizona.edu>**

>Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 12:25:50 -0700
>To: community_garden@ag.arizona.edu
>From: "Doug and Lindy Barnes" <brnstorm@primenet.com> (by way of Lucy 
>Bradley <bradleyl@ag.arizona.edu>)
>Subject: Re: rainfall catchment.
>
>
>
>"Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell."  Edward
>Abbey
>
>We would like to network with other desert gardeners who are growing their
>own food, working at simple methods of using graywater, and composting.
>Doug and Lindy Barnes at brnstorm@primenet.com
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Dawn G Kazmer <dgkazmer@juno.com>
>To: water@waterstore.com <water@waterstore.com>
>Cc: community_garden@Ag.Arizona.Edu <community_garden@Ag.Arizona.Edu>;
>gifford@scrap.ssec.wisc.edu <gifford@scrap.ssec.wisc.edu>
>Date: Sunday, February 21, 1999 6:47 AM
>Subject: Re: rainfall catchment.
>
>
>>Phoenix has a 7 inch per year rainfall.     It is interesting to think
>>about the contrast with northern Ohio (43").    Several books discuss
>>arid plants but there is such a range among them that one needs a table
>>listing rainfall amounts for the various origination places of the
>>"native" plants.
>> Trenching uphill from plants is about the only thing we can do in the
>>community in which I live.   Cisterns have caused so many child trapping
>>accidents that they are not allowed, here.    My whole community has
>>black plastic placed under gravel to fight "weeds".    When it rains the
>>water rushes onto the streets which fill curb to curb to fill the storm
>>sewers and carry all the water away from plants.
>> It is so amazing that in the most arid place of all, no one seemed to
>>realize that the only place weeds grow to any size is where they are
>>watered regularly.    Non native plants don't germinate and native plants
>>get so little water that they are easy to pull out by hand for the first
>>year of their life.   Most of the native seed doesn't even germinate for
>>lack of water.   90% of the ones that do germinate die form heat and lack
>>of water before they are a foot tall.    We've found the problem and it
>>is "us"!
>> Furthermore, our community uses those blowers to keep it "clean" so
>>there is no debris to enrich the soil so it can hold more water for the
>>few plants we grow.     And, in our clean and "neatness"  we plant almost
>>nothing because we would have to water it so our air has fewer filters
>>and our pollution increases every year.     And, we wish to prosper so we
>>are growing our metropolitan area as fast as possible ~ this is
>>progress...................     The ignorance of man is probably a
>>terminal disease.
>>On Fri, 19 Feb 1999 20:35:05 -0800 "Tim Pope" <> writes:
>>>Hello everyone looking for water.   I was browsing the net for
>>>rainfall
>>>catchment sites and found very few of any consequence.  This is not
>>>ment to
>>>be derogitory, just discouraging.  Even though the dates of the items
>>>in
>>>community garden were from 1997, I thought I would still reply.
>>>
>>>My name is Tim Pope and I am President of Northwest Water
>>>Source/Greywater
>>>Management Inc. located in Friday Harbor Washington.  Contrary to our
>>>location in "wet" Puget Sound, we really have a very dry seasonal
>
>>>environment in the San Juan Islands.  Our average rainfall is just 22
>>>inches per year with a nearly dry may through sept cycle.  The islands
>>>are
>>>mostly rocky with overburdens of clay, or alluvial soils.  The hard
>>>rock
>>>areas support wells of very low production and marginal quality.  The
>>>areas
>>>with alluvial soils have good rainfall recovery, but are extremely
>>>suseptable to salt water intrusion from the surrounding Puget Sound
>>>and
>>>Straights of Georgia.
>>>
>>>To solve an increasing water quantity/quality problem, San Juan county
>>>has
>>>been very far thinking regarding new construction and solutions to
>>>existing
>>>wells.
>>>
>>>As of September 1998, a building permit may be issued based on
>>>rainfall
>>>catchment as a houshold water source INCLUDING POTABLE USE.  We have
>>>no
>>>choice here but to come up with alternative sources.  We have no
>>>rivers or
>>>creeks to dam, and can't very well pipe fresh water accross 20 miles
>>>of
>>>seafloor.  I believe we are the first community in the country to look
>>>to
>>>the future and tap the original source rather than "mining" more water
>>>from
>>>a depleted acquifer.
>>>
>>>Feel free to contact me with questions..............Tim Pope
>>>
>>>
>>>the popes in friday harbor
>>>water@waterstore.com
>>>
>>

Lucy K. Bradley
Extension Agent, Urban Horticulture
Maricopa County
The University of Arizona
Cooperative Extension
4341 E Broadway Rd.
Phoenix, AZ  85040-8807

Phone:  (602) 470-8086 ext 323
Fax:  (602) 470-8092
email:  BradleyL@ag.arizona.edu
http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/

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