Hospital In California’s Drought Stricken Central Valley Will Use Recycled Water

In case you live in a bubble and don’t know that California is in the third year of one of its worst droughts, driving through many towns in the state this summer might give you a clue something is not normal. Many public properties feature brown lawns, as do many lawns in residential areas. The San Joaquin Valley is one area that is already dry due to its desert climate. Fresno, its biggest city, only received 4.87 inches of rain this year, 42 percent below average. Both Fresno and neighboring Clovis have outdoor water restrictions in place. Fresno residents can water three times a week while Fresno residents can only water two times a week. In one county over, a subdivision called Madera Ranchos is under stage four water restrictions and outdoor watering is banned.    Despite the severe drought restrictions, the Clovis Community Medical Center is undergoing a big landscaping project, slated to be completed in a few months. The 125 acre campus is landscaping about 50 acres, which will be irrigated with recycled water from the Clovis Recycled Water Project. The hospital’s use of recycled water will make it the biggest user of the water recycling facility and its first private partner. The use of recycled water allows the hospital to put in new landscaping featuring drought tolerant trees, grasses and shrubs.    To continue reading, click here

Photo: Clovis Community Medical Center

Gina-Marie Cheeseman is a central California-based journalist who writes about sustainability, environmental issues, and healthy living. With a degree in journalism and a passion for social responsibility, she writes for a number of online publications. She believes that collaboration between the public and private sectors can help solve many problems facing the planet and its people. Mashable.com named Cheeseman as one of the “75 Environmentalists to Follow on Twitter.”