San Jose Water Company

Smoky gray skies at dusk

Local temperatures soared again this weekend, breaking into the triple digits. What made it surreal was the oppressive air. Though wildfires still burn up and down the west coast, the Bay Area has been relatively untouched, other than a few small and quickly contained grass fires. This weekend the skies were a murky grey with the smell of burning wood. We kept going outside hoping to locate the source. The acrid smell got worse at dusk, probably due to the heavier evening air.

According to KTVU, one of our local TV stations:

Fire departments across the Bay Area received numerous calls Saturday, from concerned residents about seeing and smelling heavy smoke in the area, officials said.
KTVU meteorologist Rosemary Orozco says it has to do with a shift in the weather pattern. She says the onshore breeze normally would blow the smoke towards the Oregon and Nevada borders.
But a change in the weekend weather pattern is blowing the smoke from the Gold Country down towards the Bay Area.

Leading up to the weekend, I couldn’t wait to get started on another sheet-mulching project. After nearly four months, we finally have our lawn replacement plans in hand. Yes!!!

To qualify for the lawn replacement rebate, I have to wait for San Jose Water Company’s final plant approval. They have strict instructions NOT to start planting without prior go-ahead and that could take up to six weeks. The rebate pays $2 a square foot so it pays to play by the rules. That said, I am so over our brown, crispy “lawn.”

Forms and more forms. Santa Clara County likes to keep it old school

I drove the list of plants, the application and other requisite forms to the water department. Knowing how slow government agencies are, I didn’t want to waste another day mailing the packet. I left with an official looking date-stamped slip of blue paper. Now we wait.

The better news is that they we’re allowed to remove the lawn while we wait. The preferred method is sheet mulching. Since I already sheet mulched half the lawn last fall with great success, I was ready to get started.

I sheet mulched this area starting last October. It used to be lawn.

On Saturday morning, my back garden looked like this:

Did a wild raccoon go crazy with an overturned garbage can?

Did the rats throw a party in the compost bin?

Nope. I made that mess. On purpose. But only because my Friday night self didn’t know about our Strange Little Weekend ahead. Excited to get started, I tossed cardboard, compost and compostable material on to the pile just before dark. By the time I was home from Pilates and haircuts the following day, temps were searing hot.

This week I’m practicing patience while I hide from the heat. I’m thanking the universe for the extra time indoors to catch up on (yawn) my boring (yawn) paperwork. This heat won’t last forever.

How was your weekend? Is your week off to a good start?

I have no right to snicker since I make mistakes all the time, but according to the paper, we can expect low “clodus” at the beach.

First, the heat.

Our forecasted high for today is 100F (38C). It’s going to be hot again tomorrow and Friday before cooling down for the weekend. I have both the temperament and the complexion for the British Aisles, so this weather puts me out of sorts. Mouse agrees.

Mouse Trying to Cool Off

My lettuce looks a bit on the wilted side, but the rest of the garden crops are enjoying the summer. (Oh wait, it’s still spring…it’s hard to tell anymore). The pumpkin seedlings are up, the raspberries are flourishing and the tomatoes are yelling, ‘look ma, I’ve grown!’

Sprouting Pumpkins

Tomatoes and Raspberries Enjoy the heat

Unfortunately we’re in the middle of a terrible drought. Above-average temperatures further evaporate our low reservoirs. Dry grasses increase fire risk.

Which brings me to water.

I met with Cheri Garza of San Jose Water Company for a household water audit. She really knows her business, and taught me a lot. Outdoors, she inspected the hose bibbs, our irrigation system, the irrigation schedule and the water main. She tested for leaks and watering efficiency, then measured the square footage of our lawn. She liked the sidewalk strip conversion (we removed the lawn and capped several sprinkler heads. She said a lot of water goes to waste in the strip.

Indoors, she checked faucets, showers and toilets in each bathroom, then checked the kitchen faucet, dishwasher and washing machine.

On the plus side, our indoor water usage is efficient. All the faucets, toilets and showers use 2 gallons per minute or less. I do minimal hand-washing , which is less efficient than a fully loaded dishwasher and the same for clothes washing. The down side is that it will be harder to reduce when mandatory rationing sets in.

Outdoors, however, there are many ways to improve our water efficiency. San Jose Water is offering partial rebates and we qualify for all three. They allow you one year from the date of the audit to complete the projects. Originally they rebated seventy-five cents per square foot. They’ve increased that amount through September to $2 per square foot if you replace water-thirsty lawn with approved native and drought tolerant plantings.

The second rebate offers up to $5 per sprinkler head. Our sprinklers are only four years old, but the new and improved Rainbird U-Series uses up to 30% less water.

The third rebate went into effect in January and applies to a graywater system. Water savings amounts to 17 gallons per person, per day, or on average 14,565 gallons per household per year. I need to do my research on this, but on the surface, I love it. You divert graywater from your washing machine and use it to water non-edible landscaping.

Water Wise Group graywater/greywater system

Here are a few general tips for water savings outdoors:

Drip irrigation is the most efficient way to water landscaping.
Water in the morning, to reduce evaporation
In California, turn off your irrigation system completely in December until mid-March.
Water your lawn for three to seven minutes, three to four days a week.
Go Native! Attract birds and beneficial insects and at the same time conserve water

To save water indoors: