Many in Sonoma have taken up the water conservation challenge but none more so than six Valley projects which were recognized at an awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 5. Among the winners are a family, a school, a nonprofit organization and three wineries.
Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown said, “It’s extremely exciting that everyone from families to farmers have taken gotten involved in water conservation efforts at this level. The award winners exemplify what people can do when they are committed to saving our most precious natural resource – water.”
The Basin Advisory Panel, which was formed in 2007, has developed a groundwater management plan for Sonoma Valley. The plan includes 10 action items to protect and preserve local groundwater resources, including: conservation, improved groundwater recharge, use of recycled water and groundwater banking.
“Conservation is a critical component of groundwater management. The less water we use now, the more we have for future generations,” said Mark Bramfitt, chairman of the Basin Advisory Panel. “The award winners provide practical models for all of us to follow.”
Details on each winner are below.
The Russell Goodman Family
This family of seven – two adults and five children – is using an almost unbelievably small amount of water. At just 66 gallons per day they are far exceeding the statewide average per capita use of 100 gallons per day. According to family patriarch, Russell Goodman, it’s nothing new.
“We’ve conserved water and power in every house in which we’ve ever lived,” said Goodman, a reluctant awardee. “To me, it’s part of home ownership to be conservation-minded.”
To keep usage low, the Goodmans employ a combination of conscientious indoor water practices with drought-tolerant landscaping outside. Inside they take short showers, sometimes even “camp-style” showers were they get wet, turn off the tap, lather up and then turn the tap back on to rinse. In the summer, Julie Goodman, mother of the five children, buckets the gray water from the bathtub outside for landscape irrigation. On the hottest she will hand water some plants but most of the yard takes care of itself. She also runs only full dishwasher and laundry loads, which has contributed to an extremely low PG&E bill as well.
“Besides the conservation benefits, we have more money left to spend on our family rather than giving it to the water and power companies. It’s a win for everyone,” said Goodman.
Sonoma Valley High School
The high school took up the city’s Cash for Grass challenge, eliminating an enormous 13,900 square feet of irrigated turf and decreasing water use more than 30 percent in 2009 compared to 2007. Eric Mullen is the school district’s director of maintenance and operations and according to Sonoma Valley High School Vice Principal Glenn Moll, is the man responsible for the unprecedented conservation.
“The rear playing fields use a lot of water and since we can’t get rid of them, Eric spent the summer tinkering with the irrigation to cut watering back to the bare minimum without losing the lawns,” said Moll.
On campus, Muller removed grass in the front of the school, at the entrance on Broadway and in the central courtyard, replacing it with richly-hued and drought acceptable redwood bark.
Milenka Bates is the city’s director of Public Works as is a huge proponent of Valley-wide teamwork where water conservation is concerned. “The city appreciates the district office’s response to the urgent call to action we elicited to immediately reduce water use with some of our largest water customers. The D.O. has always complied and they do what it takes. It’s great,” said Bates.
Sonoma Ecology Center
Through ongoing educational outreach programs, the Sonoma Ecology Center has instilled in the community the importance of water conservation. “We work with the public to promote the idea that there are innovative ways to save water,” said Richard Dale, executive director. “The message is, ‘you can do it.’”
A series of water-wise lectures was successful, as were hands-on workshops at the Community Garden where participants learned everything from drip irrigation techniques to which drought-resistant plants work best in Sonoma’s climate. Another educational experience, ‘Water Wisdom Tours,’ examined “cutting edge water-saving strategies” in action in home, business and commercial settings.
“We’re looking at different ways to engage people in the water-conservation conversation,” Dale said. “When people see and learn firsthand, it really ups the interest.”
Gundlach Bundschu Winery
Gundlach Bundschu, California’s oldest family-owned winery, is one of only 12 wineries to earn the distinguished Green Business Certification from Sonoma County this past summer.
Just recently, the winery received the county’s water conservation award for recycling 70 percent of all water through a collection pond and wetland system that treats winery wastewater, drain water and rainwater for reuse. The clean reclaimed water is then used to irrigate grape vines.
In addition to wastewater recycling, other green business practices for “GunBun” include solid waste reduction through composting, pollution prevention and energy conservation by way of solar. Two new solar arrays on the Denmark Street property include the installation of a floating system on one of the settling ponds.
“We don’t do any of this for marketing purposes,” said Chris Holman, operations manager for the winery. “We do it because it’s the right thing to do and, although we’ve worked hard over the past five years to lessen our carbon footprint, the Bundschu family have always been stewards of the land they have farmed for so many generations. Some of the new systems we’ve put in place are state-of-the-art and some are a little more low-tech but they all allow us to accomplish our goals of conservation on all fronts.”
Deerfield Ranch Winery
Opened in 2004, Deerfield Ranch Winery is relatively new to the Valley and as such was planned and built with water conservation in mind. An early adapter of a bioreactor system for winery wastewater, Deerfield Ranch is able to recycle almost all of its water for irrigation. “We reuse 98 percent of our water which is one of the highest rates in the industry,” said Managing Partner P.J. Rex. “Additionally, the two percent compost solids that are leftover we use for fertilizer in the vineyards.”
The winery also has a water retention pond to collect rainwater for groundwater recharge during the summer. “The storage pond is designed to collect the rain. It allows the water to seep back into the ground slowly,” said Rex. “Groundwater recharge is rapidly becoming the industry standard as more and more water in the county is restricted for winery use.”
Wetlands and a forest are part of the terrain at Deerfield Ranch and tie in perfectly with the back-to-nature feel.
Benziger Family Winery
The winery has reclaimed and reused more than a million gallons of wastewater through a collection pond and wetland system.
“In the pond, the water is aerated and starts to break down,” says Colby Eirman the winery’s director of sustainability. The next step is in constructed wetlands, where “the bacteria scrubs the water” before flowing to the irrigation pond. “Overall, it’s become a significant contribution to our irrigation use.”
In addition, the winery has switched from washing barrels using excessive amounts of water to using a high-efficiency steamer for barrel cleaning. This has reduced the amount of water used from 22 gallons per barrel to just two liters per barrel.
Finally, being conservation-minded before planting has driven more water savings; as the winery works carefully to match each varietal with rootstock, and farming methods.
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