WHAT IS THE WATERSHED APPROACH IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN
AnandaScapes • May 13, 2020
Watershed Landscape Design - MWELO
Over the past few years here in SoCal, you probably have heard of the State of California’s Model Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance (MWELO)
.
This concept started with ordinance AB 1881
, on January 1st, 2010.
With AB 1881, California’s goal was to encourage water reduction use on residential and commercial landscapes.
Today’s MWELO now enforces these ordinates to be part of every landscape improvement, when 500 square feet or more of the landscape is going to be improved.
Many City’s are requiring MWELO when a permit is pulled for a Building improvement that totals 500 s.f. or more triggering an MWELO audit on the landscape.
Some of these requirements include but not exclusively are:
- separate water main to irrigation valves with its own shut off valve
- its own water meter
- a back flow prevention device
- irrigation must be in hydro-zones
- lawn reduction - no more than 25% total landscape area
- some way of runoff collection (the first 1% of roof runoff per every storm) in the form of - rain barrels or tanks, swales, rain gardens, proper soil conditions
- And others
While many of my colleagues and I have been designing landscapes in a xeriscape style for years now, our landscape association APLD, is now calling it The Watershed Approach
.
This link here
will take you to our free PDF design booklet. Below is a quick review. Each subject below will have a blog about it coming up in the future.
- Design to distribute runoff back into the property’s landscape using swales, topography, rain gardens, and best off all, spongy healthy soil. “OWL”
- No Lawns in the front yard. You can have your lawn in the backyard for the kids and animals.
- If you must have a lawn, try to use a less water hungry ground cover.
- Sheet Mulching to kill off lawns.
- Plants are to be designed in Hydro Zones and Fire Zones. Use Natives when possible. No invasive species used in planting plans.
- Mulch Mulch Mulch - We are talking wood chips or organic matter not gravel. Although 3/8” to 1/2” gravel in some areas can be called mulch, but not when it covers the entire yard. This creates the Heat Island Effect, which is no bueno!
- Drip, drip , drip - Drip irrigation, and depending on soil type, use a cycle and soak method. You can retrofit spray nozzles with rotator nozzles rather than ripping out your existing irrigation system.
Our water use as a society is increasing, and there is strong evidence that in 20 years, we will be 40% short of the fresh water needed to sustain our current water use. So get out there San Diego and change your landscapes to an eco friendly watershed design.
Ever wondered what to do with your cracked, worn out concrete or black top driveway? Well instead of re-pouring concrete, why not look at turning that grey driveway into a living, green driveway.
Drinking responsibly is a term we often hear associated with our favorite Cosmo or Lite Beer, but not often associated with our lawns
