Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DEPARTMENT
Water Quality


  How Can You Be Safe
  When Near Water?
  Come visit with 'Unu as she teaches you how to
  be safe when you play around lakes, rivers and
  the ocean.
  >>MORE


The MLPA is directing the state to design and manage
a network of marine protected areas What effect will
this have on tribes if access to traditional gathering
areas are closed.
M A R I N E   L I F E   P R O T E C T I O N   A C T
W A T E R  S A F E T Y  F O R  K I D S
Greywater Tech Solutions
Not only is water a scarce resource globally- it also takes a huge amounts of energy to move it around - all adding to your carbon footprint. Grey water is the solution.

Money goes down the plug-hole
Most consumers are very wasteful when it comes to water usage. In Western economies, we take water supply for granted and use huge quantities of potable water - often for non-essential purposes and - worst - sometimes we just pour it straight away. An increasing number of us now have water meters fitted to our homes - meaning that we are quite literally pouring money down the drain.

So what can you do ? Clearly, we can all make efforts to cut down on our use of water by simple means (see Less Waste) - but also domestic water treatment equipment is now available to help householders to recycle used potable water ( 'Grey Water') and also to harvest rainwater. We like to think of this as Green Water.

Giving Grey Water the Green Rinse
With the right treatment, you can put Grey Water to good use in applications such as laundry, toilet flushing, and also for plant watering - for which the phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients provide a good food source. Grey water provides many benefits.

You can install a home UV filtration system from a number of suppliers globally.

Rainwater Harvesting
This is a low cost option that simply involves the collection of rainwater from surfaces on which rain falls. Generally, water will be collected from the roofs of buildings and stored in rainwater tanks. All you need is to capture this rainwater and direct it from roof gutters to your rainwater storage tank.
OUR WATER SITUATION 2/3/09
Without substantial rain in the Russian River watershed, here's what's ahead:
Home water use: Rationing in most cities and towns by June, primarily in the form of curtailed yard irrigation. Agriculture: Significant water shortages starting next month along the Russian River that likely will damage crops. Recreation: By late summer, the Russian River from Healdsburg to Ukiah could be down to a trickle.

2/20/09
Federal water may be cut off from Calif. farms
If drought deepens, state to make drastic move; revenue, jobs affected
Federal water managers said Friday
that they plan to cut off water, at least
temporarily, to thousands of California
farms as a result of the deepening
drought gripping the state.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials
said parched reservoirs and patchy
rainfall this year were forcing them to
completely stop surface water
deliveries for at least a two-week period
beginning March 1. Authorities said they
haven’t had to take such a drastic move
for more than 15 years.

The situation could improve slightly if
more rain falls over the next few weeks,
and officials will know by mid-March if
they can release more irrigation
supplies to growers.

Farmers in the nation’s No. 1 agriculture
state predicted it would cause
consumers to pay more for their fruits and
vegetables, which would have to be
grown using expensive well water.
MORE>


Are we in danger of running out of water?
S T A T E   O F   T H I R S T: California's Water Future - KQED QUEST


Do you have any idea what you water usage is at home? Take this QUEST quiz.
Q U E S T Quiz: Water - KQED QUEST