Neighbor News
West Basin Dedicates City of Hermosa Beach's First Ocean Friendly Garden
The Native Garden Will Help to Conserve Water in This Time of Drought
City of Hermosa Beach Mayor Peter Tucker, West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) Director Carol W. Kwan, and community partners celebrated the dedication of Hermosa Beach’s very first Ocean Friendly Garden (OFG) at the Hermosa Beach Community Center on Wednesday, November 26. This garden replaces nearly 2,000 square feet of grass with water-conserving, drought-tolerant plants native to Southern California.
“On this special day, we’re here to celebrate another milestone in Hermosa Beach’s sustainability and water conservation efforts,” said West Basin Director Carol Kwan, who represents the City of Hermosa Beach. “The City continues to lead by example and it is our hope that residents and community members use this garden as a model to use water more efficiently outside their homes and businesses not just during this time of drought, but as a way of life in Southern California.”
The coordinated efforts of the OFG partnership with Surfrider Foundation, Green Gardens Group and Stout Design Build helped to create the ultimate water conservation garden. This garden is designed to receive recycled water and incorporates swales and berms to capture rainfall to allow for natural irrigation of the garden.
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The Ocean Friendly Garden program is part of West Basin’s Water Reliability 2020 program, which aims to reduce dependence on imported water to only 33% by 2020 through doubling water recycling, doubling conservation efforts and adding ocean-water desalination to a local, diverse water supply.
Programs such as the OFG allow West Basin to work toward its water efficiency goals by reducing the amount of water used outdoors (the leading water-loss practice in residential communities). The garden is located at the Hermosa Beach Community Center for visitors to enjoy and was funded by the Department of Water Resources, the South Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, California Water Service Company, City of Hermosa Beach, and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
