WRI Projects
The WRI has a Watershed Management Internship program funded by the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extention Service (CSREES) program for Hispanice Serving Institutions. Students participate in paid supervised internships that are individually designed to augment the each student’s field of study and provide an opportunity for the student to come in contact with the scientific and professional workforce to address real-world impacts resulting from the explosive growth, changing land use patterns and expanding urbanization in the Santa Ana watershed.
The WRI and several partners have joined to build a Water Conservation Demonstration Garden on campus, between the Student Recreation Fitness Center and the swimming pools. This demonstration garden will re-introduce the community to the sights and fragrances that have been part of this area for thousands of years. It will encourage people to look to our past for answers about what will thrive in this climate, while harnessing the best water conserving technology that the present holds, to ensure a sustainable future.
The garden is made possible by generations donations from the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District and the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden working in partnership with CSUSB and the Water Resources Institute. Construction of the 1.4-acre garden is expected to begin in fall of 2009 and be completed by the following spring, with an official opening in April or May of 2010.
WRI Director Susan Longville is assisting David Zoldoske, director of the CSU Water Resources and Policy Initiatives, in project development that will leverage CSU’s system-wide academic excellence into an important resource for addressing the complex issues about water confronting California today and in its future.
In March of 2007, Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced a partnership with the Water Resources Institute to coordinate the Alluvial Fan Task Force (Task Force). The Director of DWR appointed 33 members to the Task Force including county supervisors, local flood managers, developers, land use/environmental interests and representatives of state and federal agencies. The members were charged with developing a Model Ordinance and local planning tools that would provide a model for future land use decisions on alluvial fans that are non-prescriptive and flexible allowing local governments to adapt to their local conditions and each development. The Model Ordinance and local planning tools are aimed at ensuring public health, safety, and general welfare, minimizing public and private losses and damages that may result from the flood risks and related hazards posed by development located on alluvial fans and giving consideration to the beneficial floodplain and other values that enhance the sustainability of watersheds.
Upper Santa Ana Landscape Alliance
The WRI convened the Upper Santa Ana Landscape Alliance to provide our partners in city and county government with educational programs on the components of landscape water conservation. This was in response to AB 1881, a law that, in essence, requires more stringent landscape water conservation regulations. This new law will take effect in 2010 mandating that every city and county in California adopts the state’s Water-Efficient Landscape Ordinance or an equivalent, requiring water-efficient landscaping plans based on water budgets for all new construction or substantial development. The WRI has coordinated four workshops that explained the legislation, showcased how Riverside County has successfully reduced outdoor water use; introduced San Bernardino County’s efforts to devise county-wide measures, and explained how to integrate drought-tolerant plants into public landscapes.
The WRI is coocrdinating a wide-ranging project within the Santa Ana Watershed. Two faculty members and several community partners have begun a state-of-the-watershed study with has several objectives, including water quality and species monitoring, and public education. Several of our USDA-funded Watershed Management interns have dedicated their projects to this effort.
Check out the Lytle is Vital! brochure to learn about some of the issues in the watershed.