Water Supply and Conservation
Individual residents and the City of Mill Valley have a significant role to play in the use of water resources. We need to make a strong individual and
collective commitment to the goal of conservation of water, a precious resource.
Actions
The City should lead the way in the conservation of water by adopting policies and programs for water and energy conservation that encourage,
incentivize and communicate this urgent need to reduce water consumption by residents, businesses and by the city departments themselves. I’d
like to see the city lead by example. The City can do that by assessing its internal water and energy use by its own departments and services. With
a baseline reading of current use, we can map out and target reductions and then monitor progress toward meeting goals. In addition, through its
land use planning memorialized in the City’s General Plan, we can adopt land use policies, like those in a proposed plan for Miller Avenue, that
promote water conservation by fostering smaller units of housing, resulting in much less water use.
At the Redwoods, for example, the individual resident uses only 40 gallons of water per person per day while individuals throughout the County of
Marin on average use 160 gallons of water per person per day. This is an example of smaller footprint living that yields greater resource
conservation and protection.
Ideas
One example for leadership in water conservation would be for the City to establish a demonstration garden on City property, featuring native, low-
water plants and vegetation showcasing best practices in mulching, soil amendment, plant choice and irrigation. .Of all cities in the county, the city
of Mill Valley posts the largest percentage increase in water demand over the summer. Primarily, this is due to cultivated gardens that use large
amounts of water during the dry summer months. We must find ways to encourage the use of more appropriate, native vegetation that thrives
under low water conditions. A demonstration garden can educate and inspire homeowners to save water and plant appropriately.
The City does have design review guidelines for new homes and significant remodels that require water conservation for landscape irrigation meet
Marin Municipal Water District specifications and that landscape plantings be native species that use less water. It would be instructive to have a
low-water use garden in the city for planning staff and commissioners to refer applicants looking for inspiration in meeting these guidelines.
Documentation of water savings at a demonstration garden would also help spur homeowners to adopt bay-friendly gardening practices that
conserve water and save money.
The most powerful method for spurring behavior change comes when we have a personal relationship with our use of a resource that makes
manifest our own responsibility to it. The County of Marin, fairly quickly, achieved record setting waste diversion goals after we started sorting
our own trash to extract the recyclable materials. Water meters on the outside of homes seem to be giving meaningful metrics only to the meter
reader. Bills for water use on a periodic basis allow comparisons only after the fact.
We should employ real-time ambient metrics to document both water usage, shortages and reminders to use less. The energy orb is a globe that
sits on a desktop and flashes red when peak hours signal when power costs more. As a friend and energy expert opined recently, it could be as
simple as a fountain in the City running high (see the reward here) when conservation goals are met and low (spurring us onto greater
conservation) when we are missing the mark.
Individual residents and the City of Mill Valley have a significant role to play in the use of water resources. We need to make a strong individual and
collective commitment to the goal of conservation of water, a precious resource.
Actions
The City should lead the way in the conservation of water by adopting policies and programs for water and energy conservation that encourage,
incentivize and communicate this urgent need to reduce water consumption by residents, businesses and by the city departments themselves. I’d
like to see the city lead by example. The City can do that by assessing its internal water and energy use by its own departments and services. With
a baseline reading of current use, we can map out and target reductions and then monitor progress toward meeting goals. In addition, through its
land use planning memorialized in the City’s General Plan, we can adopt land use policies, like those in a proposed plan for Miller Avenue, that
promote water conservation by fostering smaller units of housing, resulting in much less water use.
At the Redwoods, for example, the individual resident uses only 40 gallons of water per person per day while individuals throughout the County of
Marin on average use 160 gallons of water per person per day. This is an example of smaller footprint living that yields greater resource
conservation and protection.
Ideas
One example for leadership in water conservation would be for the City to establish a demonstration garden on City property, featuring native, low-
water plants and vegetation showcasing best practices in mulching, soil amendment, plant choice and irrigation. .Of all cities in the county, the city
of Mill Valley posts the largest percentage increase in water demand over the summer. Primarily, this is due to cultivated gardens that use large
amounts of water during the dry summer months. We must find ways to encourage the use of more appropriate, native vegetation that thrives
under low water conditions. A demonstration garden can educate and inspire homeowners to save water and plant appropriately.
The City does have design review guidelines for new homes and significant remodels that require water conservation for landscape irrigation meet
Marin Municipal Water District specifications and that landscape plantings be native species that use less water. It would be instructive to have a
low-water use garden in the city for planning staff and commissioners to refer applicants looking for inspiration in meeting these guidelines.
Documentation of water savings at a demonstration garden would also help spur homeowners to adopt bay-friendly gardening practices that
conserve water and save money.
The most powerful method for spurring behavior change comes when we have a personal relationship with our use of a resource that makes
manifest our own responsibility to it. The County of Marin, fairly quickly, achieved record setting waste diversion goals after we started sorting
our own trash to extract the recyclable materials. Water meters on the outside of homes seem to be giving meaningful metrics only to the meter
reader. Bills for water use on a periodic basis allow comparisons only after the fact.
We should employ real-time ambient metrics to document both water usage, shortages and reminders to use less. The energy orb is a globe that
sits on a desktop and flashes red when peak hours signal when power costs more. As a friend and energy expert opined recently, it could be as
simple as a fountain in the City running high (see the reward here) when conservation goals are met and low (spurring us onto greater
conservation) when we are missing the mark.