Public Service Announcement (PSA):

Without Low Impact Development (LID), lawns can no longer exist. Native gardens become ecological liabilities: less permeable surface than lawns and enablers: of dust /air pollution, vermin population increases, flood, erosion, and wildfires.

With LID, harvesting thousands of gallons of rainwater can be enabled on your property as DYI project(s) or through a LID contractor.

With a rare consecutive year of La Nina (drought conditions in the Southwestern USA), the water situation looks dire. The silver lining is that we should be seeing more normal weather patterns next year. However, we need to act in order to not get ourselves in this situation again.

For those able to make the necessary modifications to their land/property, please adopt and implement Low Impact Development (LID) designs. Agencies tasked with LID are primarily concerned with storm-water management. LID designs divert rainwater from storm drains through infiltration and tanks. The secondary effect of LID is the restoration of the hydrological cycle. This restoration in effect allows for the storage of rainwater in the earth. Millions of gallons of precious rainwater is otherwise lost to the ocean. When water is stored in the ground, our plants can survive on natural rainfall and will only need supplemental water during the hot months. Furthermore, rainwater infiltration flushes accumulated salts from our soil.

LID and permaculture principles both mimic natural systems. The biggest difference is that LID design specifications have industry/regional standardization. With this standardization LID may be implemented at scale. With LID, harvesting thousands of gallons of rainwater can be enabled on your property as DYI project(s) or through a LID contractor. See your local municipality for region specific LID guidelines/requirements. For the Los Angeles area, the City of Los Angeles LID handbooks are a great place to start. Look for these at the following link or at the City of Los Angeles Sanitization department. https://lacitysan.org/san/faces/home/portal/s-lsh-wwd/s-lsh-wwd-wp/s-lsh-wwd-wp-lid/s-lsh-wwd-wp-lid-ld?_adf.ctrl-state=siquvmi6c_5&_afrLoop=7676140078240805#!

Restoring the hydrological cycle is crucial. Without this restoration, lawns can no longer exist. Native gardens become ecological liabilities: less permeable surface than lawns and enablers: of dust /air pollution, vermin population increases, flood, erosion, and wildfires. Without this restoration we will collectively continue to use more water than available– a threat to home gardens.

Our Never Enough Dirt gardens thrives because we capture and infiltrate every rain event. Furthermore, our soil is comprised of a signification percentage of native clay, a water and nutrient retaining medium. One of the simplest yet most impactful action every arid climate gardener can take is to incorporate more native clay into their garden. Start with a 30% incorporation of clay to the soil mix. Afterward, adjust watering and amendment schedules accordingly.

Further reading:
What is the hydrological cycle, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/hydrological-cycle

An even rarer third La Nina has been forecasted for Fall of 2022. Hopefully this 3rd event does not extend beyond 2022, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01668-1