Utilizing Recycled Water for Wetlands Ponds and Pastureland
It's Good For the Environment, Supports Wildlife AND Provides Cost SavingsThe District utilizes an environmentally smart, low-cost way to use its high-quality, treated wastewater during the spring and summer by collecting it in wildlife ponds and then using the water to irrigate an area it leases for cattle pasture. Supporting Birds The District's 800 acres of pastureland and wetlands are not only a low cost disposal method, but birds and other wildlife benefit from the improved habitat. During the 2011 Christmas Bird Count, birders counted birds in a specific 15-mile diameter circle, which included the District's wastewater treatment ponds. This year's count yielded an impressive 161 species, of which 104 were documented in the District's wastewater treatment ponds. To learn more visit the Bay Nature website by clicking here. Maintaining Agricultural Heritage, Preserving Open Space Irrigating the ponds and pasturelands with recycled water also helps maintain a link to Novato's agricultural heritage because the District leases the land to a rancher for cattle pasture. Additionally, as part of the lease the rancher is responsible for the care of the property and pays a lease fee, making it even more cost-effective for the District. |
 
“Birds were everywhere: ducks, coots and grebes in the ponds, blackbirds in the tule, sparrows flushing from the coyote-bush alongside the dirt roads, ruby-crowned kinglets flitting in the eucalyptus, raptors perched on distant wires, skeins of geese threading through the air...” |