WATER-02
Partner with the local stormwater programs to establish incentive programs that promote the deployment of on-site rainwater catchment systems, such as rain barrels, rain gardens, cisterns, and other mechanisms, to capture and store rainwater for use during the dry season for water customers.
Continue and expand on the Sacramento County’s Environmental Management Department’s educational outreach regarding the safe and proper installation of rainwater catchment and storage systems.
Coordinate with appropriate agencies to develop a standard to deploy innovative options to meet future water demand for all County-owned facilities (e.g., reclaim and purify wastewater, build on-site greywater reuse systems, or use recycled water from the regional or local treatment plants).
Develop an integrated network of rainwater and greywater catchment systems within the County’s agricultural sector through incentive and rebate programs to further increase water storage capacity.
Establish a regional stormwater harvest program and construct the related infrastructure (e.g., piping, storage basins and reservoirs, pumps) in existing rural and urban portions of the County, as well as new development.
Benefits: Deployment of on-site and regional rainwater capture and stormwater harvest technology would expand Sacramento County’s existing water storage capacity and thereby improve the County’s resiliency to periods of drought or cases where water distribution infrastructure is damaged.
This measure will have co-benefits related to flood risk.
Timeframe: Near term
