EDES 408: IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE PRINCIPLES

Water and the Human Environment

A project by

CAPILLARY ACTION

GABRIELLA SERRIERE_3RD YR. ARCHITECTURE

WINTRESS HUETTER_4TH YR.LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

CHRIS GAGE_4TH YR. ARCHITECTURE

GABE DAVIS_3RD YR. FORESTRY

CHRIS BROWN_3RD YR. ARCHITECTURE

RACHEL ALJILANI_5TH YR. ARCHITECTURE

Water In Perspective

“In the relatively dry Mediterranean climate of the central coast, water is a significant limiting factor on the carrying capacity of this landscape. Despite only twenty annual inches of rainfall, this landscape supports a rich ecology, which for thousands of years has included humans. As the human population continues to grow, it will reach levels that are historically unprecedented. The impact on the ecology of our watershed, and the availability of clean water will become an increasing concern.”

-excerpt from EDES 408 course introduction

Watershed

The whole region or extent of country which contributes to the supply of a river or lake.

A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems.

San Luis Obispo Creek watershed contains the Stenner Creek sub-basin.

Watershed Area

-Cal Poly Master Plan

Ridge

San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly acquire water from:

Salinas Reservoir (primary)

Whale Rock reservoir (secondary)

Four (4) active wells (4% of supply)

The city regularly exceeds it’s allotment of water, depleting reserves. Water from these sources is treated at Stenner Canyon Water Treatment Facility.

-City Water Treatment Facility

Water Treatment reduces:

Microbial Contaminants

Inorganic Contaminants

Pesticides and Herbicides

Radioactive Contaminants

Organic Chemical Contaminants

Cal Poly Water Demand

50%

38%

12%

Non-agriculture UseAgriculture Use

Residential/Sports

Non-agriculture Use 586 Acre Feet / Year

Agriculture Use 446 Acre Feet / Year

Residential/Sports 140 Acre Feet / Year

TOTAL 1172 Acre Feet / Year

The question is: How to feed a growing poopulation?

LARGE quantities of water are consumed for agriculture and waste disposal purposes.

Are current agri-business trends with genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) sustainable?…we don’t think so

What is sustainable agriculture?

Sustainable To keep in existence; maintain.

Agriculture The science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products

Sustainable Agriculture• A system that is economically viable for farmers and ranchers, environmentally healthy, and supportive of local communities and rural areas.•Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity•Farming and ranching practices that produce quality food and other products, while preserving open space, abundant wildlife, and other forms of biodiversity.

Capillary Action believes organic agriculture is more sustainable than current large scale monocultures.

Site (SARC)Fortunately there exists an organic farm on Cal Poly’s campus, the Sustainable Agriculture Resource Center (SARC).

We believe in Sustainability and think the SARC is an ideal choice (and holistic) to make important water concerned implementations and improvements.

The SARC is an ideal and legitimate location within the San Luis Obispo Creek watershed to focus a water use improvement project.

San Luis Obispo Creek watershed lies in the Stenner Creek sub-basin.

Site

-Cal Poly Master Plan

Ridge

Watershed area

Site

Stenner Creek

Brizziolari Creek

Topographical Site map of Sustainable Agriculture Resource Center..

Capillary Action’s EDES 408 Case Study:An AQUATIC RETROFITTING of Cal Poly’s

Sustainable Agriculture Resource Center (SARC)

Brief Explanation of Site:

The farm is located on Cal Poly’s campus, an ideal location to exemplify sustainable principles to students and visitors

The farm is prototypical for small rural developments with limited inputs (finances, supplies, acreage).

The farm supports the community through its CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program and regular workshops.

The farm encourages research: a previous senior project resulted in the nationally acclaimed strawbale structure that currently serves as a packing shed on the farm.

Student Agriculture Resource Center

Greenhouse to beFestival Circle

Strawbale OfficeComposting Toilet

Office

Office

Strawbale Run-off

Festival Circle

NW 30° -> SW 30°

NW 30° -> SW 30°

SW 60° -> NW 30°

Da Bulls

How water gets onto the site:

Four (4) sources for potable water (spigots and piping)

Non-treated irrigation water (mountain and road run-off)

Atmospheric (Rainfall and fog)

Water is currently used on site for:

• Crop irrigation

• Drinking, cooking

• Washing vegetables, hands and tools

• Aquaculture

How water leaves the site:

•Runoff

•Percolation

•Evapotranspiration (ET)

•Plants & people

Run-off from the site enters the city stormwater sewer system, then barrels into a local waterway.

Closes beachesKills wildlife

Poisons drinking water resources Contaminates fish and shellfish

“Identifying and controlling non-point source pollution, including run-off from farms, lawns, construction sites, forestry operations, and animal wastes, is a challenge.”

Non-point Source Pollution

-Water Environment Federation 1998

Sunlight, heat, wind, and humidity determine how much water a plant needs. These water factors drive water loss in (2) ways:

Evaporation from the soil

Transpiration from plants

Microclimate factors effect evapotranspiration rates (ET)

San Luis Obispo ET:

-City SLO Util. Dept. Resource Fall 2002 V.6 Issue2

Season In./Wk. Months assuming 4wk./mo.Spring 0.3 2 2.4

Summer 1 5 20Fall 0.6 3 7.2

Winter negligible 2Total Lost/Yr. 27.2

Evapotranspiration Rates for SARC

-Talk with Terry Hooker

SARC farm manager

Due to higher ET rates, an increase in fields with yields, and production time; water demand increases greatly in the summer months. It also becomes a warmer working environment for the laborer.

Considerations for aquatic retrofitting:Would the expansion of the lower sediment pond into a biofilter treatment lagoon also serve to recycle and reuse run-off from the site?

Could we use this water for irrigation, keeping the central swale topped off throughout the year, in an expanded facility, and for aesthetics that anticipate microclimatic affects?

What could be the benefits of an integrated water path?

How could we circulate the water?

What types of energy demands is the farm looking at in the future?

How is our system integrated with future systems?

Master Plan for sustaining the farm:

• Lagoon Expansion: run-off, microclimate effects (ET), biodiversity increased seasonally, places to be

• Solar Pump: returns water to site high point for reuse

• Solar/wind system tied to grid for energy generation and use by future facility

• Additional pond or greywater system

• Expansion of human waste disposal stations (composting toilets).

What are sediment ponds?

Both this collecting pond and parking lot runoff scupper are examples of bio-swales

The goal is to control the polluted water flow into the bio-swale in a slow, shallow and broad manner.

Pollutants either stick to the plant tissues in the swale or settle onto rock surfaces, effectively separating from the water flow

Bio-swales, also referred to as stormwater retention ponds, are used all over the country to remove pollutants and provide flood control.

A typical bio-swale provides 30-80% pollutant removal, including decreases in total suspended solids, total phosphorous, total nitrogen, floating trash, heavy metals, biological oxygen demand, bacteria, greases, oils, and turbidity.

Bio-swales need to be maintained in order to function properly,the removal of built up sediment and weed maintenance are important to keep the engineering of the swale working.

A solar pump will be used to return water to the site’s high point.

Filter

Solar pump requires 32 sq. ft. (4) 120 W panels.

+hp

Pipeline located along perimeter has multifold benefits:

• does not disturb the fields

• requires less power to overcome the slope

Existing Sediment pond

Solar Water Pumping System

3040 Dankoff Pump powered by a 480 wt. Solar Array

Capable of pumping 5600 gallons per day

Enough to meet all of the farms current agricultural needs, future facility demand as well as offset loses due to evapotranspiration which requires 5300 gallons per day at peak use.

(Future Facility demand based on the water needs of three people fulltime would be an additional 267 gallons per day) Design Demand =

5567 gallons per day

Cost of Solar Pump System

3040 Dankoff Pump $1287. 79

Astropower (4) 120 Wt Panels $2184. 00

Total $3471.79

Cost of producing your own clean energy

Priceless…

Hybrid Renewable Energy System for Expanded Facilities

2.8KW Solar and Wind Grid Connected System

This system will produce 370 kwh per month on average

Current Demands are 300 kwh during peak months (summer)

There is power surplus of 70kwh for future use

Solar System Components

(20) 120 Watt Panels, 4’ x 2’

Sunnyboy 2500 watt Inverter

System Components: Wind

Air Power 403

• 400 Watt Turbine

• Requires no maintenance

• Smooths out seasonal weather fluctuations

Wind / Solar Hybrid System Costs

Solar

$11,620 (20) 120 Watt Panels

$2,289 (1) Sunnyboy 2500 Inverter

- $5503.50 California Energy Commission Rebate

$8405.50 Total

Wind

$ 569 Air Power 403

$139 Air Power 403 27’ Tower Mount Kit

Total $ 708

Wastewater created from washing (vegetables, hands, etc) can and should be reused on site to increase efficiency of farm

We encourage the use of composting toilets as an alternative to the wastewater labyrinth…

The city of San Luis Obispo is looking at a Water Re-use Plan

What are composting toilets?

A composting toilet must perform three completely separate processes:

1. Compost the waste and toilet paper quickly and odorlessly

2. Ensure that the finished compost is safe and easy to handle

3. Evaporate the liquid

Many years ago Sun-Mar engineers realized that to work properly, these three tasks required independent chambers, each with its own separate environment. This revolutionary new three chamber approach first developed in 1979 proved so successful that today it is incorporated into all Sun-Mar units.

Projects within a stream corridor in the San Luis Obispo Creek Watershed are likely to involve obtaining permits from any or all of the following agencies. It is recommended that a representative from each agency be contacted during early phases of the design process.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Branch www.spl.usace.army.mil/co/co5.html

National Marine Fisheries Serviceswr.ucsd.edu

Central Coast Regional Watery Quality Control Board  www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb3

California Department of Fish and Game  www.dfg.ca.gov/legal/index.html

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pacific.fws.gov

City of San Luis Obispo  www.ci.san-luis-obsipo.ca.us

San Luis Obispo County  www.slonet.org/~sloco/

Websites

The New Watershed: A Fresh Look at the Hidden Opportunities in Urban Runoff (version 1.0), by Owen E. Dell http://www.owendell.com/watershed3.html

City of San Luis Obispo Website, Utilities pagehttp://www.ci.san-luis-obispo.ca.us/utilities/index.asp

Excrement Happens: Sewage system information for recently rural residentsby Cliff Turnerhttp://www.rfu.org/ws105.htm#Excrement%20Happens

 San Luis Obispo Creek watershed GIS database courtesy Walt Bremer:http://midnight.calpoly.edu/gist/slo_watershed

San Luis Obispo Waterway Management Planhttp://suntzu.larc.calpoly.edu/slo_creek/

The Humanure Handbookhttp://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html

Cal Poly State University Master Planhttp://www.facilities.calpoly.edu/Facilities_Planning/masterplan/plan/index.htm

Books

The Integral Urban House: Self-Reliant Living in the City by the Farallones Institute, Sierra Club Books 1978

SOLVIVA: How to Grow $500,000 on One Acre, and Peace on Earth, Anna Edey, Trailblazer Press 1998

Sustainable House.  ‘Turning Waste Into a Resource .Mobbs, Michael. Sydney. 

The Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture, Rosalind Creasy, Kangaroo Press 1997

The water Fact Book, California Agriculture and Its Use of Water, California Farm Coaliition. 1999