Localizing San Diego Water should be a priority in our Climate Action Plans as we move the conversation from strictly “Greenhouse Gas Emissions” to “Community Resilience”. We are excited to be at the forefront of the Localizing San Diego Waters movement, collaborating with dozens of local organizations, and working hard to shift the political will of our community to a more equitable and resilient water future.

Do you know where your water comes from? The story of water in San Diego is an interesting one and can be found in more detail here. As water managers seek to diversity San Diego’s water portfolio, more centralized infrastructure projects are proposed and coming online. For example, Surfrider and Coastkeeper are asking you to take action on rejecting one of the more recent proposals, a $6 billion Regional Conveyance System. Our water managers are ignoring the huge potential of decentralized systems to create more local resilience with enhanced economic and ecological benefit.

CatchingH2O has been at the forefront of Localizing San Diego Water efforts through

• policy work with the Public Health Alliance of Southern California and UCSD. Read our Discovery Document and Blueprint to understand more about where our local water policy is at and what our recommendations are for how to create more resilient and equitable solutions for ensuring clean water is available to the entire San Diego region, for human and ecological abundance, for generations to come.

• pilot projects

  • to restore habitat with the San Luis Rey Watershed and California Fish and Wildlife in a Pilot Project involving installing greywater and rainwater harvesting systems at dozens of sites throughout the watershed to reinstate year round flows to support trout habitat.

  • to developing equitable, neighborhood based water solutions with Groundwork San Diego

• neighborhood and house tours of water harvesting sites in collaboration with Coastkeeper and the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute to educate and inspire.

• educational opportunities

  • hands-on classes with the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute

  • online classes in cooperation with The Water Conservation Garden, and local water service providors among many others.

  • professional training through our Water Harvesting Certificate Course which starts in early October and is limited to 10 participants!

  • internships, mentorship, and apprenticeships through local colleges and universities, including this Senior Engineering Project with UCSD students.

• cutting edge solutions to promote decentralized water resources: we installed the first indoor reuse systems for rainwater in southern california and greywater in San Diego.

• installations that satisfy a wide array of design goals and budgets while maintaining high standards of workmanship. The hundreds of thousands of gallons of rainwater storagend hundreds of greywater systems we have installed have served to create the largest and most comprehensive data points in the region for maintenance, water use changes, and ecological impacts of these systems. This feedback loop helps us inform jurisdictions on best practices.

We hope you’ll add your voice to the conversation by educating yourself, working with us, joining an organization we collaborate with, and talking with your friends and neighbors about why localizing our water is important. Fill out this survey if you, or an organization you are involved in would like to be part of a Localizing San Diego Waters Conference, to strategize with our regional water managers and jurisdictions on creating a vision for regional water resilience relying on local water resources. If you are interested in taking the next step at educating yourself join our upcoming Water Harvesting Certificate Course which starts in early October. We look forward to seeing you there!