Captured Rainwater for Summer Watering
Bob and his wife Ann took the call to conserve to heart and decided to make conservation and water-efficiency a big part of their home renovation plans.
They had gutters installed on their home and did so with an eye toward capturing as much water as possible. The gutters feed into five new cisterns, three 860 gallon tanks and two 530 gallon tanks that will help to provide water for their landscape and pool. Robert built the foundation for the tanks, and his roofer was able to source and install the tanks.
They then removed all of the lawn in their backyard, as well as cut down some invasive bamboo, and planted a variety fruit trees, including apples, limes, plums, nectarines and peaches, along with low-water use native plants, including Poppies, Yerba Buena and Blue-Eyed Grass. The trees are all watered by a new drip irrigation system that slowly and deeply provides water to the root systems.
They finished off the yard with flagstone paths and have also set up a bee hive and bought some chickens that are home in a new coop in the yard.
