Construction has begun for this 19-acre school site located along the Cosumnes River in Sloughhouse, Ca. Connecting to local water utilities was not an option in this rural area and in order to handle water needs, the school was designed to include a large well, 750,000 gallon water storage tank and a wastewater treatment facility. In this unique case, the secondary-treated wastewater was used to irrigate 3 surrounding acres of foraging habitat for Swainson's hawk mitigation. The plant species selection was a crucial part of the design of this habitat, which would receive a high volume of water during the school year and almost none during the summer months (summer dormancy). In order to serve as a habitat for the endangered Swainson's hawk, the plant species needed to be low-growing to allow ground foraging and include abundant trees for nesting. Native oaks and redbuds were included, along with a blend of California native grasses including Festuca rubra, Nassella pulchra and Bromus carinatus that were selected to not only provide habitat, but to also filter out wastewater pollutants before entering the Cosumnes River Watershed.
Also unique to the project is the successful relocation of a 36" dia. heritage Valley Oak from the original location high on a hill, to the new location over 40' lower in elevation. Design team members include John Suesens and Marq Truscott.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Cosumnes River Elementary School - a story about water
Construction has begun for this 19-acre school site located along the Cosumnes River in Sloughhouse, Ca. Connecting to local water utilities was not an option in this rural area and in order to handle water needs, the school was designed to include a large well, 750,000 gallon water storage tank and a wastewater treatment facility. In this unique case, the secondary-treated wastewater was used to irrigate 3 surrounding acres of foraging habitat for Swainson's hawk mitigation. The plant species selection was a crucial part of the design of this habitat, which would receive a high volume of water during the school year and almost none during the summer months (summer dormancy). In order to serve as a habitat for the endangered Swainson's hawk, the plant species needed to be low-growing to allow ground foraging and include abundant trees for nesting. Native oaks and redbuds were included, along with a blend of California native grasses including Festuca rubra, Nassella pulchra and Bromus carinatus that were selected to not only provide habitat, but to also filter out wastewater pollutants before entering the Cosumnes River Watershed.
Also unique to the project is the successful relocation of a 36" dia. heritage Valley Oak from the original location high on a hill, to the new location over 40' lower in elevation. Design team members include John Suesens and Marq Truscott.
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Do you know if this project received any grant funding by virtue of the property including a habitat for the Swainson's Hawk? Was the Hawk indigenous to that area already? Trudy Kilian (trudy@djtconsulting.com)
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