by Matt Corrion
Thanks to Barbara Landrith at CLCA for sharing this great article (M2 Equitybites), excerpts from which follow:
Water and wastewater services provider California American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, stated on Thursday that the company and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District will be offering more rebates for installation of water-saving appliances and water-wise landscaping, commencing this month.
Residents can earn rebates for removing lawn and replacing it with low water use plants, permeable surfaces or synthetic turf. This programme now offers $1.25 per square foot of lawn removed and replaced with low water use plants or permeable surfaces up to 5,000 square feet (an increase from 2,000 square feet). Lawn replaced with synthetic turf qualifies for an additional rebate of $2.00 per square foot up to 2,000 square feet, bringing the maximum rebate amount to more than $10,000.
My Thoughts: Those are pretty substantial rebates. The amounts available are higher than I have seen in the past, and would be more than enough incentive for homeowners to consider renovating their landscaping to save water.
Unfortunately, the only landscape related rebates mentioned for commercial businesses are for graywater irrigation systems. While I applaud those efforts, a much greater opportunity for water savings for commercial properties is in offering substantial rebates to replace high water-use landscaping with more water-wise landscaping.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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by Matt Corrion
More communities are realizing that Xeriscape (low water use landscaping) makes sense, and are actively promoting it.
photo of a converted xeriscape that was previously a lawn area
The City of Aurora, Colorado and Aurora Water have been pioneers in water conservation through supporting regionally appropriate landscape design. Outdoor Design Group has been actively involved with the program for the last couple of years. For 2010, the Xeriscape Rebate program has been allocated $250,000 dollars for rebates to convert high water use landscapes (sod, turf, or lawn) to Xeriscape.
In past posts on this blog, I have documented the money and water savings and given examples of the beauty of these landscapes. Each site is different, but in general you can expect a (more…)
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by Matt Corrion
As tax revenues continue to drop, towns and municipalities everywhere are trimming their budgets and looking for places to make cuts- in some cases by converting paved roads to gravel.
Here are excerpts from a recent article I came across at the Denver Post (Clarke Canfield, AP), on this emerging trend:
Ever since the invention of the automobile, paved roads have meant progress. Now some cash-strapped towns and counties are finding progress too expensive, and they are tearing up battered roads and putting down gravel.
The high price of pavement and the sour economy have driven municipalities in states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Vermont to roll up the asphalt — a mile here, a few miles there, mostly on back roads — rather than repave. (more…)
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by Matt Corrion
UPDATE: Collecting Rainwater in Colorado will be legal beginning on August 10, 2016. Please see our new post regarding the use of Rain Barrels in Colorado, and House Bill 16-1005.
Two new legislative bills were passed in Colorado this summer that seem to be causing some confusion regarding water rights. Senate Bill 09-080 and House Bill 09-1129 allow for the collection of rainwater- but only in very limited circumstances.
Many businesses and homeowners are looking for ways to be more sustainable, to save water, and to conserve resources to help their bottom line. I have been surprised to find that many people are not aware that collecting rainwater- even in a simple “rain barrel” system from your roof for use in watering a garden, is illegal in Colorado.
Historical Precedent
I think the Colorado Division of Water Resources website summarizes well the historical precedent in layman’s terms: “Colorado water law declares that the state of Colorado claims the right to all moisture in the atmosphere that falls within its borders and that ‘said moisture is declared to be the property of the people of this state, dedicated to their use pursuant’ to the Colorado constitution. As a result, in much of the state, it is illegal to divert rainwater falling on your property expressly for a certain use unless you have a very old water right or during occasional periods when there is a surplus of water in the river system. This is especially true in the urban, suburban, and rural areas along the Front Range. This system of water allocation plays an important role in protecting the owners of senior water rights that are entitled to appropriate the full amount of their decreed water right, particularly when there is not enough to satisfy them and parties whose water right is junior ro them.” (more…)
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