My favorite places in Tucson to bring visitors

Gazing at Brad Lancaster's house and cisterns in Dunbar-Spring neighborhood

After a day exploring the rainwater and greywater features in our yard, the sun went down. We decided to harvest some tasty (and slightly sour) barrel cactus fruit to prepare for Watershed Management Group's Family Saturday event. 

Slice and bake barrel cactus leaving the seeds in place

The next morning, we were off to Watershed Management Group where I gave Lillie a quick tour of the Living Lab and Learning Center. Check out the chicken coop that Dan helped to build. The chickens compost the lab's kitchen and garden scraps so they can be used for fertilizer for the nearby food forest. 

Also on the campus is a big underground cistern that holds 10,000 gallons of water collected off of two roofs on the campus. The wooden hatch in the foreground is the access cover to the cistern.

And in the background is their stylish blue bathroom with composting toilets that provide humanure for the many trees at the Living Lab. 

Since Lillie is a civil engineering mayor with an emphasis on the environment, Dan figured she would benefit from an explanation of their water filtration system. The water pumped out of the underground cistern is filtered so it can be used for drinking. 

Those are just a few of the conservation efforts demonstrated at the Living Lab. You can learn about more on the Living Lab Tour. Dan might even be your guide! 

Always the trooper, Lillie was game for a tour of Brad Lancaster's Dunbar-Spring neighborhood. 

We saw a roadrunner enjoying a path shaded with native palo verde trees in rainwater harvesting basins.

On the path was a sign that showed BEFORE AND AFTER the rainwater harvesting features were installed. The area in front of Brad's house used to be nothing but hard, stark ground. Now there is a lush desert food forest and habitat for all kinds of desert critters! 

We were inspired by the community spirit in this neighborhood as well as the street art, rainwater and traffic calming features that the industrious neighbors installed. 

We saw the famous "garottage" (garage cottage) where Brad lives. Dan explained the passive solar that the positioning of the house provided. 

Sign explaining passive solar

I couldn't wait to show off the many rainwater features like the curb cut that directs water into the rock-lined catchment basin to water that native mesquite tree.

This is on the same street where Brad installed the first guerilla curb cuts that are now legal and eligible for rebates in Tucson and are part of neighborhood Green Stormwater Infrastructure projects being installed by the city.

Just look at all the shade this traffic calming chicane provides the neighborhood! 

Water from the street nourishes the native trees and plants in this chicane

Jeremy reminded me that they need to be able to explore for themselves.

Jeremy and Lillie explore a traffic circle that serves as a habitat for desert critters.

And make their own discoveries... 

But it always comes back to this...

We celebrated with a yummy dinner at the nearby La Indita restaurant on Stone. 

Then it was off for a well deserved day of fun at the Desert Museum!

Where Lillie made her own discoveries...

But we can't help to point out the reason that all of that water conservation matters. From a platform at the Desert Museum, we spotted the Central Avra Valley recharge basins. Our CAP water is pumped 326 miles from the Colorado River which we share with seven other states and Mexico - who are also suffering from a severe drought. 

Rainwater harvesting is one tool for water security in Tucson and helps to cool our neighborhoods. Since Tucsonans use 30-40 percent of their residential water on their landscapes, if everyone planted native trees nourished with rainwater we would save a lot of municipal water.

Central Avra Valley recharge basins from Desert Museum

It was great spending a few days exploring some of the most inspiring places in Tucson with Jeremy and Lillie! 

See our tour of my yard here:

https://www.sustainablelivingtucson.com/2024/05/sharing-my-passion-with-next-generation.html

To find out how much water you can harvest at home, try out this simple water budget calculator from Watershed Management Group.

https://watershedmg.org/water-budget-calculator

#lovemyrainbasin

Building Community with Rainwater Harvesting Projects

Dan and I were on a mission to photograph some examples of rainwater harvesting for the new website soon to be launched: Desert Lifestyle Tucson.

During our self-guided tour of Dunbar/Spring, we captured more than rock-lined catchment basins and cisterns. There were signs of community - a community that Brad Lancaster carefully crafted along with his guerrilla curb cuts...

... including signs displaying before and after photos of the neighborhood project. It's a story I love to share - how this once stark, crime-ridden neighborhood became an example of Green Stormwater Infrastructure and community building.

The streets are now lined with large native shade trees nourished by stormwater runoff. Neighbors followed Brad's example, and installed their own curb cut basins to take advantage of the monsoon rain that had threatened to flood the foundation of some of their houses. The once illegal curb cuts are now an integral part of the city's Green Stormwater Infrastructure policy.

Evidence of community collaboration expands throughout the neighboring streets with traffic calming chicanes and medians decked with edible desert plants and cool art, a well-used bike lane and lovely, well-worn walking paths through lush canopies of full mesquite, palo verde, and ironwood trees.

Crime has actually declined as neighbors came outside to enjoy it.

We spotted another neighbor out enjoying the shade of the native vegetation in the traffic circle.

Dan and I caught some of that neighborhood spirit and gathered a few pieces of trash.

We got in one last shot of Brad's neighborhood...

... before heading across Stone for a yummy vegetarian lunch in the shade of saguaro ribs at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, La Indita.

We took with us inspiration for community building projects for our neighborhood.

More Information: 

The Water Harvester: An Invitation to Abundance

https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/2022/07/the-water-harvester-an-invitation-to-abundance/

A love letter to our catchment basins

If you have been following our blog lately, you know how thrilled we were to finally get our last two cisterns installed.  (You did it, baby!)

We really needed that harvested rainwater for our thirsty garden this summer as our plants suffered from record heat.  I was feeling guilty for giving them so much water as our main water source, the Colorado River, is drying up due to the extreme drought.  

But now that we've had some rain,  I am really appreciating the beauty and ease of our catchment basins.  During the first big storm even the biggest cisterns filled up, so I needed to figure out how to use up some of the water in order to leave room for the next downpour.  Our Mexican Honeysuckle (that get the overflow) had MORE than enough water, so I wanted to spread the wealth. 

Meanwhile, I watched in wonder as our catchment basins kept sinking in water.  Rainwater harvesting Guru Brad Lancaster said that a catchment basin can actually store more water than the big cisterns. The cisterns fill up and that is it. But the catchment basin keeps sinking in water. The roots of the native plants and grasses help the water sink in. Those so-called "weeds" help prevent erosion, and keep the woodchip mulch in place to create a sponge to hold the water longer.  That moisture also feeds the microbes in the soil. What a joy it is to see mycelium under the mulch and the resulting mushrooms! The birds love our yard! We like to think of it as an edible food forest for us and the birds. 

Dan has designed our system so the overflow from the cisterns flows into a basin or somewhere where that water can be used. He transformed our front yard into a rain garden.  Every time it rains, we rush outside to see how well the system works! 

My favorite is the jujube basin. We already had gutters and a downspout that directed the rainwater where we wanted the basin. That was the easy part.  But it was quite the effort to get the roots of the aging oleanders removed. Dan planted the three jujube trees up on mounds and dug a basin along the side of the three trees. Then he filled the basin with mulch (that has long since decomposed into nice soil.) We got so much water there during a big storm that it actually washed some of the mulch into the street until we got some volunteer native grasses, horse purslane and wild flowers to catch them. They act as a living mulch. And when the horse purslane died it became straw-like mulch that keeps the moisture in longer. During the winter, I only had to deep water them once a month (or longer.)  During the recent heatwave, it was every two or three weeks. I haven't had to water them at all during monsoon season. And they are flourishing and growing lots of fruit. 

Now much of the front yard is covered with basins.  It didn't happen overnight.  It was a process.  Here's a little history of that process... 

First Dan dug a basin in our right-of-way leaving mounds with five gallon holes in them so we could plant a wolfberry and four moringa trees. At the time, the right of way was completely covered with deep-rooted invasive  Bermuda grass. It was quite a struggle to get it out. (It was even growing under the sidewalk.) Dan conducted a "percolation test" to make sure the water would sink in within twelve hours. Then Dan filled the completed basin with organic wood chip mulch and native grasses.

We planted moringa seeds in June so they would be established by the time the monsoons started.  We were amazed how huge the moringa grew in just one season! (Those moringas have quite a story of their own that you can follow by clicking on the link in the label column to the right.)

Next Dan dug out at least two feet of gravel and the plastic under it. It was funny... when he pulled out a big sheet of plastic underneath it we found Bermuda grass roots creating a design that resembled children's yard art!

It must have been covered up for years just waiting for a crack in the plastic to break through!  Dan took some of the gravel and built up a small berm to keep the roof water from the foundation of the house. It gradually sloped down into a basin that he filled with woodchip mulch.  On the high ends he planted native trees. Near the mesquite tree he put a hackberry bush to take advantage of the nitrogen that the mesquite fixed in the ground. (Dan loves that mesquite tree! He likes to call it his "Charlie Brown" tree because it was a scrawny project reject from WMG. ) Now that mesquite and the hackberry are thriving in our catchment basin!

Through the years the woodchip mulch has decomposed and turned into fine soil.  We really need to get some more... But after last year's monsoon, the whole basin filled with horse purslane - that acted as a living mulch! The bees and butterflies just loved it!  I pulled it away from the pathway and sidewalk so it looked intentional. I actually got compliments on our weeds!  When it died at the end of the season, I broke it into straw-like mulch.

It keeps the moisture in nicely! It is starting to breakdown too, so I'm happy that new purslane is popping up to take its place! (See photo below.) Who says Tucson doesn't have good soil?! You just need organic matter and water! 

We don't like to play favorites, but I gotta say that our catchment basins are my favorite rainwater harvesting feature.  All they take is a little sweat equity, native grasses and mulch!  Like Brad Lancaster is fond of saying, "Love it!" 

Tucson's Green Stormwater Infrastructure: An Example to Other Cities

Tucson is known for many things: the heat, delicious Mexican food, lovely winters that attract snowbirds (and other birds), outdoor recreation, ranking 48th in school funding, and our friendly small town feel. We have a lot to be proud of too - from our biking trails (the Loop rocks!) to our City of Gastronomy designation.  It may surprise you that Tucson is also known for our innovative water programs. Tucson far surpasses Phoenix in water conservation and rainwater harvesting installations. Our Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) program is still fairly new, yet it is already gaining a reputation as an example for other arid cities. 

Brad Lancaster (who installed the first guerilla curb cuts in the now lush Dunbar-Spring neighborhood) has become a world renowned water harvesting champion. Brad and other water harvesting enthusiasts, including Watershed Management Group, advocated for the city's Green Infrastructure program. On September 4, 2019 the Mayor and Council approved the GSI Program Proposal!

GSI is any constructed landscaping feature that uses stormwater in combination with natural processes to perform ecological services. Those services include managing stormwater (to prevent flood damage), using rainwater to support shade trees and other desert plants to cool our city streets, create a habitat for desert critters and sequester carbon to fight climate change.  

It is recommended that Green Stormwater Infrastructure be installed to irrigate many of the trees that are being planted as a part of Mayor Romero's #Tucson Million Trees program.  

You may have noticed curb cuts directing street water into right of way basins with native plants...

properly maintained right of way basin

Unfortunately, not all GSI installations are good examples.  A series of basins constructed on Stone Avenue had palo verde trees that fell over because they were planted in the bottom of the basin and got root rot. Live and learn. One of the first principles of rainwater harvesting is to observe how the system works and then adjust accordingly.

You may have seen some unsightly basins filled with trash and weeds. One of the issues with the basins is they need to be maintained. They tend to collect trash and invasive weeds like buffel or bermuda grass that block the entrance of the basin and prevent it from working properly.  

A group of water professionals and citizens learn how to monitor GSI

The city is aware and is making strides in correcting the issue. On May 1, 2020, a new Green Stormwater Infrastructure fee was included on utility service statements for residents and businesses within the City of Tucson.

The city's new GSI Program will:

*Provide a funding source for maintaining hundreds of existing GSI features in city neighborhoods
*Support growing more trees and plants on streets, and in parks and public areas using stormwater as a primary water source
*Address and reduce flooding issues on neighborhood streets
*Put rain/stormwater runoff to beneficial use irrigating plants
*Reduce stormwater pollution
*Shade and cool streets, sidewalks, bikeways, and parking areas
*Beautify neighborhoods
*Provide an affordable alternative to building and maintaining expensive underground stormwater infrastructure*

This fee is assessed based on customers’ water use at a rate of 13 cents per Ccf (about $1 per month for the average residential customer), and will raise about $3 million each year to build and maintain projects throughout the city that capture stormwater runoff from public streets and parking lots, and divert it into vegetated water harvesting areas. These kinds of projects are called green stormwater infrastructure, or GSI.

As I mentioned, one of the first principles of rainwater harvesting is to observe how the system works and then adjust accordingly. The city's new GSI system is no exception. There have been some incidents in which city maintenance workers (some outside contractors) weren't aware of how GSI systems work and have unwittingly harmed the system by removing vital native vegetation or over-pruning desert trees. This is very frustrating and disheartening for those who worked hard to install or maintain the systems.

I have attended Low Impact Development (LID) meetings where these issues have been discussed. The city reps listened to our concerns and are doing what they can to solve them. They are working on solutions that include setting up a monitoring system and implementing training for maintenance workers. Dan and I recently participated in both.

Here we are learning how to use the monitoring app on our cell phones.

 

The apps were used to record the type of water harvesting feature (in this case traffic calming chicanes), inflow and outflow, whether or not the inflow is obstructed with sediment, materials it is made out of (rocks or mulch), the kind of vegetation, invasive weeds, if it needs maintenance.  There was also a place to post pics. 

Dan took lots of pictures including this chicane that was overgrown with bermuda grass. 

While Dan was busy taking pics,  I went ahead and picked up some trash. I felt that if we want to be a good example we need to leave the neighborhood better than we found it.  

Dan and I spotted a lot of invasive buffel grass in the basins. I didn't want it to spread throughout the neighborhood, so I decided to pick what I could out by the roots. It was pretty easy to pull out in the soft basin soil. I was careful not to let the seeds disperse since that would totally defeat the purpose, right? So I carefully broke off the stem below them (see pic below) and placed the seeds in a plastic bag I found nearby. Then I sealed the bag tight so they won't fly out when the trash truck picks it up. 

If you decide to do this kind of work, it's recommended that you wear protective clothing like closed toed shoes, a shade hat, light weight long sleeve shirt, long pants, and gloves. (I know. I know. I didn't. But I wish I had.)  Also be mindful of your surroundings, especially traffic. 

While we were checking out one basin, I got a nice surprise. I found some volunteer sorghum. I went ahead and gleaned the seeds to plant in our greywater basin. We've found that sorghum (from the birdseed the squirrels planted in our yard) helps the water to infiltrate better. Not to mention...the birds like it! 

It was great seeing city and county employees (including those from Tucson Water) who had rallied for Green Infrastructure join interested citizens (like me and Dan) on a Saturday morning to see how our green infrastructure is doing.  They really do care! 

And they didn't just leave it there.  After recording the needs of the GSI, the city held excellent maintenance training that included how it works, how to identify useful native plants vs. invasive, and how to properly prune (or not prune) desert trees.  Attendees included city workers, landscapers, U of A maintenance personnel and even some interested parties from New Mexico and Mexico! 

Makes me proud to be a Tucsonan! 

More Information: 

For the Love of Tucson: Creating a Desert Oasis to Combat Climate Change