Tree wells make more rainwater available for trees.The last few months’ snow and rain have been great. But did you watch all that water run off your property? Or even worse, did you watch hillsides on your property eroding, creating a mess of mud and debris? After years of drought, did you wish you could have saved some of that water?
A trench on top of a steep slope keeps water from rushing down, causing erosion.
Mariposa County Master Gardeners has prepared a free water conservation workshop called “It Rained - Now What?” for Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 10 a.m. to noon at Greeley Hill Community Club Hall, 10332 Fiske Rd., Greeley Hill.
The workshop will be in two parts: a formal presentation, then a “field trip” to a nearby home where owners have put water-saving strategies to use. To register and for more information, call (209) 966-2417 or visit the website: cemariposa.ucanr.edu.
The indoor presenter is Regina Hirsch, founder of Sierra Watershed Progressive and owner of Mountain Sage Nursery in Groveland. Hirsch has worked for years in watershed management and developing water-saving techniques.
She’ll explain how earthworks such as berms (humps in the ground), basins, swales (depressions in the ground), trenches, and dry stream beds can help contain water. She’ll suggest plants to make the best use of the earthworks.
She’ll also touch on more-technical options such as rainwater harvesting systems involving plumbing, filters and tanks, and gray-water setups.
Berms, which can be as simple as using logs, slows water down and helps it soak in.
This dry stream bed sends runoff where you want it. There's a hidden pipe that attaches to downspouts from the roof.
Photo credits: Mariposa County Master Gardeners
