The Down Side of Attracting Good Insects

by Charlene Burgi

Last week I addressed the benefits of attracting good insects.  I learned there could be a down side to beneficials as a reader pointed out.  It seems that ladybugs invaded her home.  If you missed the blog, you might find my response useful if you ever share this experience.

Beneficials are good in the garden, but not when they enter your home. Not all ladybugs are bad. Hippodamia convergens are good ladybugs that do not invade homes. The ladybugs the reader was confronting are the Asian Ladybugs, Harmonia axyridis. They were introduced into California within the past 20 years and are known to invade warm, well-lit places for hibernation in the fall.

The Asian Ladybugs are more attracted to homes painted in light colors and exposed to the afternoon sunlight. They will enter into the house through any crack or crevice they can find. To prevent their infestation in autumn, find any air gaps in the structure of your home and caulk or seal so the beetle cannot penetrate. This would be a good spring and summer project.

Once the ladybugs have entered the house, try placing a slice of apple where they will gather. Collect them and remove from the premises. Repeat this process for several weeks. Some people have installed a low watt light bulb where the ladybugs will congregate for easy collection. Leave this bulb lit around the clock. You can also vacuum them up by putting a soft cloth between the hose and the bag and releasing the captured ladybugs outdoors. Or you can collect the ladybugs, put them in a jar in the refrigerator (The cold sends them into diapause, or insect-hibernation), and release them in the garden in the spring.

A word of warning: ladybugs can secrete a yellow acrid fluid that can stain as well as smell, so avoid crushing them in the process of removing them from your home. Good luck.

Sonoma County Water Update

by Paul Helliker

On October 13, a tolling agreement was entered between Sonoma County Water Agency and the City of Santa Rosa.  Pursuant to this agreement, Sonoma County Water Agency agreed to suspend any further action to rescind its application for an additional 26,000 acre-feet per year of water supply from Lake Sonoma.  Santa Rosa agreed to suspend its litigation concerning SCWA’s breach of its contract responsibilities to provide future water supplies.  During the term of the tolling agreement, Santa Rosa will work with its fellow retail water contractors (including MMWD) to establish a collaborative effort with SCWA to update the 2006 Urban Water Management Plan.  This process will answer the questions of how much water conservation and water recycling will be possible by 2030, what water supply will be needed to meet the needs of a growing population, and what is the most cost-effective infrastructure to install to meet those needs.  This update is required to be completed by the end of 2010.

Attracting Beneficials to Your Garden

by Charlene Burgi

There are several tricks to encouraging beneficial insects to find a home in your garden. Beneficial insects can help keep your garden healthy by destroying the insects that are harmful. Before encouraging these beneficials, check your level of tolerance. Do spiders and other creepy crawlies send you running for the nearest can of insecticide? Will caterpillars drive you to distraction as they mow down specific plants before reaching the pupa/chrysalis stage and emerging as beautiful butterflies? If this is acceptable, read on.

Like you, these “good” insects want food, shelter, a place to raise their young, and water to drink. Supplying a good food source is easy. Beneficials are going to prey on the destroyers, or bad insect larvae, found in the garden, and sup on the nectar of annual wildflowers and native plants. Plants also can offer shelter for these insects. They will choose to live in leaf litter, old logs, rocks and bare spots in the garden. And they will lay their eggs in the garden, ensuring future generations that will thrive and help maintain a healthy environment.

Beneficial insects will be attracted to clean water sources from bird baths with pretty stones set inside the bowl, exposed drip systems, or back yard streams. If you have a pond, they will be attracted to the ripple of the water if you provide a shallow rock for them to capture a drink. Note: if you do have a pond, add the beneficial mosquito fish to eliminate mosquito larvae. These fish are available from May to mid-October from the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito & Vector Control District. Cost is free with the caveat that the agency needs to occasionally come onto your property to check the fish. For more information call 800-231-3236. 

Keep in mind that water will also attract other critters like raccoons, neighborhood cats and, in my case, neighborhood cows that find our pond to be a great watering hole.

Similarly, the beneficials want to live in a healthy environment. They want to live in an area that is free of pesticides, as they are more prone to die from harmful insect spray than the culprits you are trying to destroy. Think of beneficials as a great natural alternative to insecticides, which can get washed into nearby streams and drains, and end up in our beautiful San Francisco Bay, destroying aquatic life.

On that note, what are you doing to keep the irrigation water you are using on your property? Runoff can carry fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and pesticides into places that can harm our environment. When it comes to water, remember the mantra: slow it down, spread it out, soak it in. If you haven’t started yet, begin developing a living sponge in your garden. Create rain gardens to capture the water as it falls. Plan on reconfiguring the drainage system by creating bioswales. Get your hands dirty. Have fun!

Connecting Students to Nature

by Craig Lauridsen

Connecting students to nature is a wonderful thing!  Last week Terra Linda High School kicked off our 2009-10 watershed field trip program with a total of 68 juniors and seniors joining MMWD staff for a field trip on the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed.  For most of the students it was their first time on the watershed lands, but I’ll bet it won’t be their last. 

Terra Linda High School students pulling invasive French broom on the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed

We met near Phoenix Lake dam where we talked to the group about water conservation, water supply and distribution, and our dependence on local rainfall.  Following the talk, half of the group used specialized weed wrenches to pull highly invasive French broom, which has infested over 1,000 acres of watershed lands.  This noxious weed crowds out native plants, changes soil chemistry so that native plants adapted to California soils are unable to compete, and can change the natural fire regime of an ecosystem, increasing fire intensity. 

The other half of the group performed an ecology lab in which they collected valuable data that will be used to track changes over time in broom spread, Douglas-fir distribution, sudden oak death, and general plant community structure. Midway through the field trip the groups switched, allowing all the students to gain hands-on experience in both projects.

Over the next eight months approximately 1,000 students from at least 15 different schools are scheduled to participate in our field trip program.  To learn more about this and other free programs that MMWD offers schools in our service area, please click here.

New Barges Will Improve Reservoir Operations, Reducing MMWD’s Water Supply Deficit

by Carl Gowan

New barges being delivered to MMWD

Four 10,000-pound barges manufactured by Bay Ship & Yacht Company in Alameda—one for Phoenix Lake and three for Alpine Lake—were delivered to MMWD earlier this month. The barges will be used to support a replacement pump in Phoenix Lake and two replacement pumps in Alpine Lake.

Phoenix Lake and Alpine Lake are both part of the district’s seven-reservoir system. The reservoirs store rainfall runoff from the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed and provide 75 percent of our water supply.

The Phoenix Lake barge will be installed this year. When needed, Phoenix Lake water is pumped up to Bon Tempe Lake and then treated at the Bon Tempe Treatment Plant. Due to the high pumping cost associated with the high lift to Bon Tempe Lake (approximately 600 feet), Phoenix Lake water is held as a reserve water supply for use in unusually dry years.

Historically, the district had a 100-hp (horsepower) pump installed on a barge in Phoenix Lake. However, the pump and barge were retired from service a few years ago as both were at the end of their useful lives. The new barge, along with a new pump and floating pipeline, will replace the old equipment.

Barge delivery

The Alpine Lake barges will be installed next spring. Two of the barges will support two new 200-hp vertical turbine pumps while the third barge will support a valve manifold for the pumps. The two new pumps will replace the existing 400-hp submersible pump, which transfers water from Alpine Lake to Bon Tempe Lake so it can be sent to the Bon Tempe Treatment Plant for treatment.  The new barge-mounted pumps will be installed in a deeper part of the lake, allowing the district to draw from water that is currently inaccessible.

These projects are part of a series of planned operational improvements designed to yield more water from the reservoir system. The other projects include the construction of an additional untreated water pipeline to facilitate the direct transfer of Lake Nicasio water to Kent Lake, and the replacement of an existing pump station in Corte Madera to increase the amount of water that can be supplied from the Ross Valley to southern Marin. All told, in the event of a drought, these improvements could increase the sustainable water supply yield of the reservoir system by about 1,000 acre-feet.*

*One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, or enough water to supply three MMWD households for one year.

Watershed Volunteers Feted at Annual Barbecue

by Suzanne Whelan

The Marin Municipal Water District’s Annual Volunteer Appreciation Event on October 3 was well attended and lots of fun! Thirty-seven guests came to the barbecue celebration at Lake Lagunitas Picnic Area. Twenty-two of them came with heightened appetites as they spent the morning volunteering with the trails crew building a puncheon bridge and constructing part of Cross Country Boys Trail. Armando Quintero, MMWD’s newest board member, also came to meet our valuable volunteers.

Over the past year the watershed has been blessed by the goodwill of 130 volunteers, including 17 who have donated more than 40 hours each! MMWD sincerely thanks all of the people who contribute their time to make Mt. Tamalpais a safe, beautiful and ecologically valuable environment. Let’s show Mt. Tam how much we appreciate her by surpassing last year’s volunteer hours with a new record high this year!

Please join us for one of these upcoming events:

Volunteer Trail Day
Saturday, November 7, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
We will continue to build a new stretch of Cross Country Boys Trail. Trail events are generally suitable for ages 16 and up (minors must be accompanied by an adult).

Volunteer Habitat Restoration Day
Saturday, November 21, 2009
9:00 a.m. to noon
We will be working on invasive species removal at Pine Point on the northern lakeshore of Bon Tempe Reservoir. Children over the age of 8 are welcome if accompanied by an adult. 

Both teams will meet at Lake Lagunitas Picnic Area at 9 a.m. Dress for changing weather and bring work shoes, your lunch, a water bottle and lots of friends! We provide snacks, water, instruction and inspiration.

Please pre-register so we will be prepared with ample tools, staff and snacks! Call me at (415) 945-1128 or e-mail volunteerprogram@marinwater.org. 

Both events are subject to cancellation due to heavy rain. Please call the morning of the event. We do work in light rain.

Save these dates!
Upcoming Trail Days: December 5, January 9
Upcoming Habitat Restoration Days: December 12, January 16

Irrigation Updates

by Elena Freeman

There is no rain in the forecast for this week, but with cooler, shorter days your plants need less water. Take a walk through your garden and check to see how your plants are doing, and carefully dig with a trowel to check the soil moisture. Especially for shady areas, you may not need to irrigate at all this week.

MMWD Landscape Rebates Ending
Because of reduced revenues this fiscal year, MMWD is forced to reduce funding for rebates for landscape materials and equipment.

Residential Landscape and Smart Irrigation Controller rebates ended October 22, 2009. Materials must have been purchased by October 22, 2009. Rebate applications must be postmarked by January 22, 2010.

Commercial Landscape rebates ended October 22, 2009. No new commercial landscape rebate applications will be accepted.

MMWD does not expect to have new funding for these programs until the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2010. Please check the MMWD website for updates around that time.

The budget cuts come in response to an unprecedented decrease in water sales. The good news is that by using less water our customers are helping to preserve our precious supply; the bad news is that reduced water sales impact funding for our operations. We are exploring ways to reduce expenses while continuing to provide necessary services. And despite the challenges, we remain committed to helping you save water! For information on our current programs, please visit our Conservation page.

“Go Native” this Weekend
Join us for a FREE, hands-on workshop at the Marin Art & Garden Center. “Go Native – Planting for Pollinators” will take place tomorrow, October 24, from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Learn to attract birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects to your garden by including California native plants that provide food, shelter, and nesting places for wildlife. To register, please call 945-1512 and leave your email address.

October Storms Are a Good Start to Rainy Season

by Jon LaHaye

Heavy rains fell across the district on both October 13th and again on the 19th.  The rainfall on the 13th was particularly heavy and represents the biggest October storm since 1962.  Lake Lagunitas rainfall has totaled 9.63 inches in October.  If no additional rain occurs this month, October 2009 will be the 6th wettest October in the 131 years that rainfall records have been kept at Lake Lagunitas.  Total annual rainfall at Lake Lagunitas averages about 52 inches.

Significantly above average rainfall (more than twice the average) has occurred in October about 20 times in the period of record.  Of those years with significantly above average October rainfall, about 60 percent ended with above average annual rainfall, about 20 percent turned out to be average, and about 20 percent experienced below average rainfall for the year. 

As these statistics indicate the rainy season is off to a promising start.  However, early rains have also occurred in drought years.  October 1975 was also very rainy (about 8 inches). The 1975/76 rainy season turned out to be very dry and the first year of the most severe drought of record.

What Do Newspapers and Water Have in Common?

by Bob Castle

Las Gallinas Valley Reclamation Plant

Like bottles, cans, and paper, water can be recycled too. MMWD recycles up to two million gallons of water a day at our Las Gallinas Valley Reclamation Plant. The water we recycle is wastewater that has been treated by the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District. At our recycled water treatment plant we filter it and treat it further so that it meets the most stringent standards in the United States for recycled water. The finished water is crystal clear, odorless, and free of harmful bacteria. It is similar in quality to swimming pool water.

The recycled water is then distributed via a separate pipeline system to 350 customers in northern San Rafael, Terra Linda, and Marinwood who use it for irrigation, toilet flushing, and other non-drinking purposes. Using recycled water for these purposes saves over 900 acre-feet of potable water annually—enough to meet the needs of 2,700 MMWD households for one year.

With our limited water supplies, the use of recycled water might appear to be a panacea. However, the biggest obstacle to expanded use of recycled water is cost. Recycled water requires a separate distribution system to avoid the possibility of cross-connections with potable water. Our current system required the construction of 25 miles of pipeline, 3 storage tanks, and 4 pump stations, in addition to retrofitting each customer’s private irrigation system to separate it from the potable system. Significantly expanding the recycled water distribution system could be twice as expensive as desalination, another water source being considered by MMWD.

Despite the challenges, we continue to explore ways to increase the use of recycled water. This year we are designing an expansion of the distribution system to bring recycled water to the Peacock Gap Golf Course in San Rafael.

Passive Rainwater Collection

by Charlene Burgi

This is the perfect time to let your garden reveal how you can passively collect rainwater. The ground is saturated and we are still getting some showers. Excess water is exiting your property via drain lines or sheeting off of impermeable surfaces such as sidewalks, driveways and patios. See if you can find ways to divert the water before it reaches these exit points by directing the water back into the garden rather than down the gutters and storm drains. 

Diverting water can be done in several ways. When the soil is not saturated, create lower elevation planting areas off of the impermeable surfaces where water exits. Grade the area so the water finds a new course to take, remembering to direct the water away from the foundation of your home! See if this would be a good spot to create a rain garden, or a series of bioswales that gently move the water around the garden.

Is there enough organic matter in the soil to absorb the water? If not, what can you do to improve the conditions without spending a lot of green to be green? One method I use is to bury the byproduct from my paper shredder. Start by digging a trench where you want the water directed. Fill the trench with shredded paper and cover with wood chips. This allows me to eliminate shredded junk mail, use mulch from wood chips obtained from a local arborist, and create a new sponge in my yard for water to collect and soak in. This cheap sponge will break down fast so you can continue to add more paper and mulch as it decomposes.

Reminder: “Go Native” Workshop Oct. 24
Are you interested in attracting birds, bees, and butterflies to your garden? “Go Native – Planting for Pollinators” is the class for you. You will learn how native plants, as well as other plant types, can minimize the problems in your garden and attract these beneficial pollinators. Come see us at the last of our 2009 Bay-Friendly Gardening classes on October 24th at Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. The class is from 9 a.m. to noon in the Livermore ll Room. Cost of workshop: FREE!  To register, email the Water Conservation Department or call us at 945-1512.