PROJECT INFO:
OWNER:
Greg Hurley
PROJECT CONTRACTOR:
Ecological Concerns Incorporated
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNER & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT:
Ecological Concerns Incorporated with Bobby Markowitz
PROJECT GOALS:
Erosion and Sediment Control; improved habitat; Rainwater Harvesting
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
ECI had the privilege to design and build a rainwater harvesting system that supplies a native evergreen forest in Scotts Valley. ECI was hired in 2014 to develop a custom plant palette for a client looking to provide erosion control to a steep slope. ECI’s lead botanist developed a native plant palette and had Central Coast Wilds propagate and grow the plants. Four months later, ECI installed a mix of native evergreen forest plants at client’s house. A year later a rainwater system was designed and installed to irrigate the native plants.
This rainwater harvesting system features two connected 660-gallon above-ground tanks creating a total capacity of 1,320 gallons. The tanks are tucked into a small space along the side of the house so that they are hidden from view. A level pad was made for the tanks by installing a small retaining wall. The tanks also specified to be low profile, to give the owner the option of building above them in the future. Rainwater is filtered in multiple stages to keep the storage tanks free of debris, and filtered again before being delivered to the irrigation system.
The landscape planting palatte was designed by lead botanist, Ellen Uhler. The landscape and rainwater harvesting system was designed by ECI landscape architect Bobby Markowitz and landscape designer Dakotah Bertsch, The installation by was done by ECI’s crew led by foreman Spencer Dillon.
