Previous Projects
by The Water Folk
Judy • Walnut Creek, California
Judy is a longtime educator and advocate for sustainability and permaculture. Her garden reflects her dedication to the natural world, and she regularly opens her property for tours by students and teachers alike.
Judy has become a longtime client of The Water Folk. Our work with her includes re-leveling her 10-year-old rain tanks, building an educational structure with alternative bamboo gutters, installing a small rainwater catchment system off her shed, rebuilding the deck around her rain-fed pond, and many other earthworks projects.
Alternative Educational Rain Catchment System
Wooden deck with inlaid plank pattern beside a lush drought-tolerant garden
Wooden deck with inlaid plank pattern beside a lush drought-tolerant garden
Melinda • Half Moon Bay, California
Rain Catchment, Rain Garden, and Landscaping
Melinda is a dedicated soil advocate in the coastal town of Half Moon Bay. Her landscape reflects her belief that a thriving ecosystem starts from the ground down.
We installed two 550-gallon slimline rain tanks, positioned to collect as much rainwater as her roof can deliver, and built a rain garden planted with native, drought-tolerant species that feed the soil and support local biodiversity.
Anne found The Water Folk through Daily Acts. She wanted a greywater system integrated into the landscaping of her front yard.
After an initial consultation to determine where the greywater would terminate, we installed the system and created a rain garden in the front half of the yard, positioned to absorb runoff from one of the main gutters. The soil was compacted enough to need a tiller, and the finished rain garden runs 6 to 12 inches deep, letting water sink back into the landscape and nourish her garden and the local watershed before it can reach the city sewer. With the excess soil we built two hugelkultur beds that buffer sound from the street while slowly breaking down organic material over years, feeding the yard as they go. The result: a mulched front yard with several new fruit trees.
Anne • Cotati, California
Grey Water System & Rain Garden
Indoor plumbing for grey water reuse system.
Mary & Steve • Petaluma, California
Grey water Reuse, Rain Catchment, and Rain Garden
Mary came to The Water Folk interested in a greywater system, rain tanks, and a rain garden.
After an initial consultation, we installed a greywater system that delivers water to a large ailing redwood and several other trees along a rock spillway. This one came with a twist: the laundry is on the second story, so the pipes run suspended above the first floor. We later returned to install two Bushman slimline rain tanks on the back of the house, just 2 feet wide but collecting 1,060 gallons between them. The tanks are connected to fill together, and their overflow runs into the freshly mulched backyard, where the rain garden absorbs it. The garden is planted with species that handle both wet and dry conditions.
Congleton's • Petaluma, California
Grey Water Reuse, Rain Catchment, and Rain Garden
The Congleton family are seriously water conscious. They came to us wanting to make the most of both greywater and rainwater, starting with an assessment and a greywater system for the front yard.
The laundry is in the garage, and the cleanest route to the front yard ran through the wall into the crawlspace, with pipes running under the house and out the other side. That system now waters a run of berries and fruit trees, terminating at a big redwood.
Grey water systems allow you to choose if the grey water goes to irrigate the garden or to the waste water treatment or septic.
Grey water systems allow you to choose if the grey water goes to irrigate the garden or to the waste water treatment or septic.