H2O To Grow Newsletter: November 2011

H2O To Grow Newsletter Volume #2 Issue #2

· texans losing water rights

· Saving Your Trees

· community gardens

· calendar of events

· Farmer’s markets

Welcome to H2O To Grow, a newsletter from a San Antonio Native for Water Conservation and Rain Harvesting.

Fall has finally arrived! And it came in fierce. The wind is blowing the leaves and branches around.

Consequences of Texans Losing Water Rights

As a follow up to our “Water Rights In Texas” story in Volume#1 Issue #10, we are discussing the Consequences of Texans Losing Water Rights to their land.

First of all, is it even possible to lose your water rights to your land?

Well, sort of…The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - TCEQ (Formerly Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission – TNRCC), issues water rights permits on what is know as a “first come – first served” basis. As there is a limited amount of water in any stream, there are limits to the amount of water which can be permitted for use.

They also issue a Transfer of Water Rights Ownership. That is self-explanatory.

In Texas’ Water Rights, the entity to most recently apply for a permit and tap into the water line is considered the “junior” user and any entity that applied and began using the water before them is a “senior” user.

Being a “senior” user allowed the town of Llano, TX to get the TCEQ to restrict the town of Junction, TX to “cease outdoor water use of any kind when the town of Llano downstream reported it was close to running out of water.” (quote from article by Claire Cardona of The Texas Tribune, “More Bad News About Texas Drought: End Not In Sight”, 10/18/2011)

So, in a way, Junction lost the water rights on their own land, during an intense drought, because they were “junior” partners.

Now, imagine that Llano decides to sell their water utilities lock, stock & barrel (including their “SENIORITY” status) to a foreign corporation similar to the Keystone Pipeline Project being sold to TransCanada. This gave Eminent Domain power to a foreign company, essentially allowing a foreign power to kick American Citizens off their own land if they refused to sell.

Now imagine this private foreign corporation, the one that purchases the “water rights” or Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CC&N), decides to tell Junction and/or other “junior” Texas Towns that they must cut back on their water use because the balance sheets require them to store more water. And they will be legally entitled and protected to do so.

Why would this happen? Could it be because someone wanted to save a dollar today to spend twenty tomorrow? Who knows and who cares, the problem is here, lets deal with it.

“The mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that; ‘W-A-T-E-R’ meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy, set it free.”

- Helen Keller, The Story of My Life

How serious is this issue?

Serious enough that Tarrant Regional Water District filed a lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma “which alleged that Oklahoma statutes governing surface and stream water rights within its borders posed burdens to interstate commerce.” “The lawsuit was filed after the Oklahoma Legislature approved a bill to extend a moratorium on out-of-state water sales in 2006” (quote from article by The Associated Press, “Appeals Court Denies Request To Rehear Texas Water District’s Lawsuit Against Oklahoma”, 10/21/2011)

To make matters worse, many of the infrastructures that deliver Texas waters are over 50 years-old, if not older, and need massive amounts of capital to fund the improvements needed to maintain safe drinking water standards.

San Antonio is fortunate to have a forward thinking utility like SAWS, a nationally recognized water operator, to manage our systems and an Edwards Aquifer to help us thru the severe droughts. Something our Hill Country neighbors may not all have.

However other smaller municipalities and towns may be feeling the pinch and think that “privatization” is the answer, but is it really? Privatization is an issue we will discuss in our next issue. Stay Tuned.

We are suffering a drought; this is an “act of God” in insurance policy talk. Surely it is a natural disaster with damages in the billions of dollars and an impact as huge as Hurricane Katrina leveling New Orleans.

But how do we fix it?

I believe education is the answer.

There is no better method than intensive and all-encompassing training contributed to by environmental agencies, conservation groups, or educational authorities as one to prevent a redundancy of effort and better utilize meager resources.

As one the groups can contribute information to a database accessible to all members to follow the latest guidelines and techniques available to the common land owner of 10 acres or less who wants to maximize the use and maintenance of his land.

It should be free and it should be practical. No ripping up landscapes or constructing new buildings. Propose easy to use information to maximize the use of their land for less expenditure.

Use the pay it forward method and have regional

water masters or educators train specific individuals who in turn will return to their towns or ranches and train a new group under the guidelines of the educating body.

In short, if we can send a rover to land on Mars, surely we have the capacity to solve and manage a healthy relationship with our land. And while I’m not against dancing around in the rain or having a hurricane party, weather will ONLY be affected by how we treat and manage our water and soil.

I will propose water conservation ideas as I find them. Credit will be given to any originating document or website with a link and footnote.

Here is a short list of agencies you can contact for more information;

I hope this information was useful.

“When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”

- Benjamin Franklin

Saving your Trees in a Drought

As I promised in our last newsletter, here is a quick and easy method to save your trees which may not be as drought resistant as a native species.

WARNING! Always call 811 before digging! They will send someone out to your home to mark utility lines.

First you must identify the canopy of your tree because the root system will be approximately the same dimensions.

After you have marked off the canopy of your tree on the ground, you will need to pick a spot and start measuring 4 foot increments around the canopy, and marking each spot (I just used a rock to mark each spot).

Dig an 18-inch deep hole approximately 2 to 3 inches in diameter. You can dig the hole wider, and then put a stick or pipe that is 3-inches wide in the hole.

Now you can fill in the narrow holes with pea gravel or sand.

Aim your sprinkler system or install a drip-irrigation system to water the holes you have dug.

This will get more H₂O to the tree’s roots systems and you will lose less water to evaporation.

Now you can water less often and your tree will still get the same or more water than if you had simply saturated the top 1-inch of your lawn.

NOTE: Water molecules are the only substance on Earth that can exist in all three physical states of matter: solid, liquid and gas!

Community Gardens spotlight

Visit one of these San Antonio Community Gardens to get inspiration and information on starting your home garden!

We will publicize 5 gardens per issue until we circle back to the beginning of all the community gardens in San Antonio.

Each Community Garden is unique and offers its own twist on the everyday vegetable gardening.

Whenever possible, we will include photos as well or more information.

(If a garden is closed or no longer there, please let me know and I’ll make a correction)

Many of these community gardens are part of Green Spaces Alliance Network of Community Gardens so please support this non-profit even if it’s just with an “atta boy’ for doing such a great job.

1. Dignowity Community Garden @ 626 Nolan, 78202

2. Diabetes Education Garden @ 701 S Zarzamora, 78207 - (The Texas Diabetes Research Center)

3. Doral Club Gardens @ 5570 Culebra Rd, 78228 (Check the apartment complex)

4. Austin Pointe Community Garden @ 11711 Braesview, 78213

5. Jardin Del Sol @ 400 N Frio St, 78207

Calendar of Events

1. Monday, Nov 14^th, 12:15pm – 3pm – Backyard Beekeeping / RX for Tree Stress and other Tree Problems – 1333 N New Braunfels – Host: Gardening Volunteers of South Texas – Cost: $5 donation/FREE

2. Saturday, Nov. 19^th, 9am – 12pm - Seed Collection, Propagation, and Cultivation Work(ing) Shop – Roots of Change Community Garden – 1416 E Commerce – Host: Green Spaces Alliance – Cost: FREE

3. Tuesday, Nov. 22^nd, 6:30pm – Wildlife Biology and Ashe Juniper Conservation Class – Lions Field Adult Center – 2809 Broadway – Host: Native Plant Society of Texas – San Antonio – Cost: FREE

Farmer’s Markets

Ø Every Tuesday, 8am – 12pm - Main Plaza115 Main Plaza, San Antonio, TX.

Ø Every Tuesday, 7:30am – 1pm – Olmos Basin100 Jackson Keller, 78216

Ø Every Wednesday, 7:30am – 1pm – Leon Valley6427 Evers Rd, 78238

Ø Every Wednesday, 8am – 1pm – St. Jude Church
130 S. San Augustine St., 78209

Ø Every Wednesday, 4pm – Pearl Brewery – Pearl Park parking lot (say that 3 times real fast!)

Ø Every Thursday, 8 am – 1pm – SA Botanical Gardens
555 Funston Pl, 78209

Ø Every Friday, 8am – 1pm – St. Matthew’s Church
11121 Wurzbach Rd, 78230

Ø Every Saturday, 7am – 11am - Bracken Farmer’s and Artisans Market
7561 E Evans Rd, 78266

Ø Every Saturday, 7:30am – 1pm - Olmos Basin 100 Jackson Keller, 78216

Ø Every Saturday, 9am – 1pm - Pearl Farmer’s Market – At Pearl Brewery along the banks of the San Antonio River.

For back issues of H2O To Grow Newsletters, simply send a request to Cesar@h2otogrow.co

Please specify what month you are asking for.

FOR A FREE RAIN WATER HARVESTING EVALUATION CONTACT Cesar@h2otogrow.co

Well, hope you like the newsletter.

Keep checking your e-mail or look us up at

H2O To Grow on Facebook

H2O To Grow Newsletter - Volume 2 Issue 1

October 4, 2011

VOL. # 2 ISSUE #1

Desertification! – Saving your Shrubs – Community Gardens – Wangari Maathai (1940 – 2011) – Farmer’s Markets

Welcome to H2O To Grow, a newsletter from a San Antonio Native for local Rainwater Harvesting and Gardening Enthusiasts.

Thank God most of our neighbors to the north made it thru this drought without a wildfire, but our hearts go out to Bastrop and all others who lost property and homes to wildfires.

DESERTIFICATION!

As many of you are already beginning to suspect, droughts may become part of Texas’ Future for the next 9 years. Sounds hard to believe, but keep in mind that the Sahara desert was once a large tropical forest. And while many current models predict a slow change from greenery to sand-blown desert, the fact is the Sahara is now the largest desert in Africa, and second only to Antarctica in the world.

This process is currently occurring in the Hill Country and West Texas, and may not show the effects for many generations to come. A time where our children’s grandchildren will be suffering the consequences of our actions OR inactions.

According to Wikipedia, “Desertification has played a significant role in human history, contributing to the collapse of several large empires, such as Carthage, Greece, and the Roman Empire, as well as causing displacement of local populations.”

To put it into perspective, the Roman Empire lasted from 44BC to 1453 AD. The United States as a country is less than 250 years old. What can we learn from this harsh lesson?

Well, I think what we can learn is that Mother Nature measures time in millennia, and we are just a blink of an eye to her.

There are many significant causes that lead to Desertification;

a) Over-Cultivation depletes the soils nutrients

b) Overgrazing vegetation causes soil erosion by wind.

c) Trees are cut down or die in droughts and their roots no longer hold the soil together.

In most areas, the layer of life giving soil that sustains the country is less than a foot deep, below that is bedrock or clay which is impossible for planting or farming.

Now most people will say, Texas has been dry for a long time and we don’t have any large deserts. Well, according to the United Nations Earth Summit 5, June 1997, Deserts don’t creep across land to swallow cities whole.

No, instead they form patches that eventually get larger and then join together, and suddenly a new Sahara is formed.

So a dry patch in Killeen and a dry patch in San Angelo and a dry patch in Uvalde can grow larger until they become one huge dry patch, or desert.

According to the Texas Drought Project, Texas is headed towards a perpetual drought, “possibly marked in hundreds of years--wherein rainfall continues to decrease and more of the state becomes desert-like, a process known as desertification.”

The Texas Drought Project is a group that is educating Texans about water conservation and the coming droughts. They also provide information and links to other groups of a like mind.

Desertification affect all of us because it will decrease agriculture, increase food prices due to scarcity and threaten the lives of many communities who could be without water as early as 2012.

How can we stop it? See our next issue!

“It is a bit sad that we have a government in this country that is actually overseeing the destruction of the forest…there comes a time when humanity is called upon to shift to a new level of consciousness… You raise your consciousness to a level where u feel that you must do the right thing. We see governments mistreating its citizens to the fullest.. who is going to question when the law keeper breaks the law?”

Wangari Maathai

Saving Your Shrubs

Today’s friendly tip straight from H2O To Grow Gardener, Cesar. (Note: This is for Shrubs. Trees use a different method.)

As we get past this drought and into fall, it may be time to take stock of what shrubs you can save and which may have to go into the compost bin.

Recycling and Re-Use are the best methods of conservation for a gardener on a budget, but the results could be spectacular.

We will be creating a system of delivering water directly to the root ball of your shrubs to minimize the loss of water due to evaporation.

As many of you know, mulch is a great groundcover that retains water on the soil when used in your flower beds and shrubs. But it does not effectively deliver the water to the root ball of the shrubs.

This is a method rediscovered by H2O To Grow and is given freely to everyone to use so please don’t charge others for it.

Here are the tools you’ll need for our technique;

1. Post Digger or narrow shovel

2. 6” diameter plastic pots (x2) with drain holes

3. Pea Gravel

4. Compost/Fertilizer Soil Mixture

5. Weed Barrier Material or any old cloth you don’t mind losing.

And now on to the Shrubs…

The first thing is to use the space efficiently. If you have a row of shrubs here is how to divide it up.

You will pair up the shrubs that are close together, and place a hole in between them. If there is an odd numbered shrub left, place a hole on the outside of that shrub.

For individual shrubbery spaced far apart, place the hole on the side facing the water faucet on your home.

Step 1: Dig the hole 18 inches down and 8 inches in diameter. It will have to be large enough to allow the pots to be stacked with a 2” lip above ground level. (You may have to go shallower or deeper depending on your pot’s size)

Step 2: Place the first pot in the hole. Line the bottom with weed barrier and fill with compost/fertilizer mixture to the rim.

Step 3: Stack the second pot on top of the first in the hole. REMEMBER to leave a 2” lip above ground level.

Step 4: Line the bottom of the second pot with weed barrier and fill with pea gravel to ground level. That means leave top 2” of the pot empty.

Step 5: Fill in the space around the pots with the soil you had taken out of the hole and pat down to firmness.

Step 6: Spread the rest of the soil around or use it to fill in any other area in the lawn needing soil.

Hooray, you have finished. The benefits of this technique are;

· Waters the Root Ball Immediately AND encourages deeper root growth.

· Less time spent hand-watering. Just fill the pot until water overflows and move on to the next one.

· Minimal loss of water to evaporation, so you water MORE with LESS.

· Can be used with a sprinkler system but you will have to reconfigure the holes or the sprinklers to line up correctly.

· The pots can be pulled out once or twice a year to replace compost/fertilizer mix.

We will get to SAVING YOUR TREES on our next issue!

“We are very fond of blaming the poor for destroying the environment. But often it is the powerful, including governments, that are responsible.” - Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai

1940-2011

Mother Earth has lost a great advocate this year in the passing of Wangari Maathai, a role model for advocates, women and the world in general.

Her Credits are too numerous to list, but follow the links to learn more.

“In 1976, while she was serving the National Council of Women, Professor Maathai introduced the idea of community-based tree planting. She continued to develop this idea into a broad-based grassroots organization whose main focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting. With the organization which became known as the Green Belt Movement Professor Maathai has assisted women in planting more than 40 million trees on community lands including farms, schools and church compounds.”

Perhaps the green-belt movement is what I will remember her the most for. She took her education and turned it into action.

We have so many geniuses like her in our midst, if we would only take the time to listen, we may learn something.

Please watch a film called “Dirt! The Movie” on Hulu for FREE! You will hear her tell the fable of the hummingbird. A story that should be read to all children at least once.

Her story has turned into the “‘I am the Hummingbird Campaign’ a nationwide all-inclusive tree planting campaign seeking to honour the memory of Wangari Maathai by doing that which she loved most: planting trees.” Our Condolences go out to her family!

“For me, one of the major reasons to move beyond just the planting of trees was that I have tendency to look at the causes of a problem. We often preoccupy ourselves with the symptoms, whereas if we went to the root cause of the problems, we would be able to overcome the problems once and for all.”---Wangari Maathai

Community Gardens Spotlight

Visit one of these San Antonio Community Gardens to get inspiration and information on starting your home garden!

We will publicize 5 gardens per issue until we circle back to the beginning of all the community gardens in San Antonio.

Each Community Garden is unique and offers its own twist on the everyday vegetable gardening.

Whenever possible, we will include photos as well or more information.

Many of these community gardens are part of Green Spaces Alliance Network of Community Gardens so please support this non-profit even if it’s just with an “atta boy’ for doing such a great job.

1. Beacon Hill Community Garden @ Intersection of Gramercy Place and Capitol Ave. 78212

2. Gardens of St Therese @ Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower. @ Intersection of Zarzamora and Culebra.

3. Jardin del Barrio @ 2121 SW 36^th St, 78237

4. S. Presa Community Garden @ 1616 S Presa, 78210

5. Refugee Growers Community Garden @ 4702 Bucknell St, 78249 (by USAA)