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Pre-Conference Field trip to:

Abalone Coast AnalyticalWater Conservation Project Tour, California Conservation Corps

Friday, October 14

Sponsored by: Abalone Coast Analytical

Presenters:

  • Meredith Hardy, Fish Habitat Specialist, California Conservation Corps
  • Wendy Laumer, Americorp Watershed Steward Project Member
  • Regina Hirsch, Co-owner/designer/contractor for Mountain Sage Landscapes and Consultant and Founding Member of Sierra Watershed Progressive
  • Anna Halligan, Restoration Ecologist, Morro Bay National Estuary Program

This tour will visit sites that have integrated techniques to conserve water through rainwater harvesting and greywater re-use in SLO County.

Rainwater harvesting is water conservation. It is an old and true tradition of storing water for agricultural, household, and irrigation usage. The thought, now in times of water crisis, is to catch the water in tanks and in the land during the winter when water is plenty and use it during the summer when water is in short supply. The two Rainwater Harvesting Projects on the tour are designed to capture rainfall off rooftops and store it in water tanks. One project will take care of the water needs for a native plant propagation nursery and the other will be used for watering cattle and for potable use in a residence. These system designs will be described in detail during the tour.

Greywater is defined as the wastewater produced from baths, showers, and clothes washers. The Greywater Project tour is a collective effort made possible by community partners. The commercial grade project will divert greywater from a residential laundry facility to irrigate and infiltrate approximately 10,000 sq. feet. The project is an effort to promote community water conservation, decrease effluent intake and discharge of a heavily burdened wastewater treatment facility, and improve Steelhead habitat in the Morro Bay Watershed by reducing phosphates in Chorro Creek.   

Location/Time/Itinerary/Cost
The field tour will start promptly Friday at 2:00 p.m. Meet and depart by van from the SLO Vet’s Hall parking lot. Cost $20 per person, including transportation (free for holders of Total Immersion Pass, 3-day pass or Friday 1-day pass). Return to Vet’s Hall by 4:00.