IF YOU ARE A LANDOWNER AND WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THIS PROGRAM CAN WORK FOR YOU, CONTACT US ASAP AT 415-663-8590 X102, PAOLA@TIRN.NET

NEW Rainwater Harvesting Incentives Program Sign Up! CLICK HERE

**Breaking news! We have funds available to implement roofwater harvesting systems in the community. Have a local school or garden project in mind? Contact us to learn more and sign up! Paola@tirn.net, 663-8590 ×102. Read below for more info.

Building on past successes, in partnership with the Marin Community Foundation, we formally launched a new community-based program, the Marin County Stormwater Catchment & Water Conservation Initiative.

Timing could not be more critical. This past Spring was the driest on record for Marin County since rainfall records began in 1879, and in early June drought was officially declared across the state of California. Water has always been a limited resource in CA, but now we will need to get creative w/ alternative water catchment and storage designs, REUSE water a much as we can, and of course REDUCE our overall "H20 footprint."

Raingardens can designed to capture and treat polluted stormwater runoff from parking lots and driveways.

Our program will serve to provide technical support, cost-share support and incentives to landowners who reduce runoff from their properties using roof-water harvesting techniques.

IF YOU ARE A LANDOWNER AND WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THIS PROGRAM CAN WORK FOR YOU, CONTACT US ASAP AT 415-663-8590 X102, PAOLA@TIRN.NET.

Stormwater runoff from our hardscapes (roofs, driveways, parking lots, roads, etc) is often diverted into an intricate network of stormdrains and stormpipes that discharge into the nearest stream, causes severe erosion of streambanks, siltation of spawning grounds, and flooding and loss of downstream property.

Reducing demand for municipal water also helps save endangered Lagunitas, Eel River and Russian River salmon! In Marin County, 50% of historical salmon habitat has already been lost behind dams on Lagunitas and Nicasio Creeks. Even so, Marin's demand for water outstrips local supplies and an additional 30% of our water supply is diverted through huge pipelines from the Russian and Eel River watersheds, pushing salmon to the brink of extinction in these rivers. During the summer months, as much as 50% of the water we use in Marin is used for irrigation of gardens and water-thirsty landscapes. Our Initiative will help landowners find alternatives to these large-scale diversions and help reduce Marin's demand for precious municipal water for landscaping purposes.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The Initiative will seek to implement replicable, residential-scale stormwater harvesting and treatment designs in developed reaches of the Lagunitas Creek Watershed and larger demonstration projects at public sites (schools, community centers, golf courses, etc.) in Marin County.

Specifically, we seek to:

• Help protect the salmonid-bearing streams that meander through the heart of our communities from the impacts of stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces (roofs, driveways, parking lots);

Rainbarrels are a quick and easy way to retain stormwater from roofs.

• Educate the community about our "H20 footprint" and encourage strong water conservation strategies and policies;

• Help nurture a water-conservation literate community that is motivated to implement best management practices in support of healthy watershed processes and endangered species recovery goals;

• Demonstrate scaleable, and replicable solutions to stormwater capture in semi-rural and urban settings.

• Reduce our carbon footprint! One of the underlying and oftentimes overlooked benefits of water conservation is the reduction of global warming gasses caused by generating electricity. Municipal water supplies demands huge amounts of electricity to treat and pump water. Marin Municipal Water District is one of the largest users of electricity on Marin County.