Figure 2.10 Baseline Water Flows for Irvine, California

Figure 2.10 Baseline Water Flows for Irvine, California

Source: Author elaboration (Sebastian Moffatt), with approximate data provided by Mike Hoolihan and the Irvine Ranch Water District (2008). Note: This diagram illustrates the effective use of reclaimed water for the irrigation of commercial and public land (average cubic feet per day). Irvine has the most advanced city water system in the United States. Note the diversity of water sources, including water harvested off-site and stored in an artifi cial lake and large amounts of piped water in the metropolitan water district imported from northern California. Freshwater is stored in ground aquifers and then harvested by the Irvine Ranch Water District, combined with expensive imported water, and used for hygiene, cooking, surface washing, and so on. Most of the water fl owing through the city’s land is rainfall, which is treated in constructed wetlands and released into a creek. A second large fl ow of water is reclaimed wastewater, which is used to irrigate landscapes on public and commercial properties during the driest periods. The most signifi cant use of fresh water (imported and groundwater) is in the irrigation of the lawns around private homes. This diagram illustrates the importance of fi nding a way legally and safely to use reclaimed water to irrigate residential properties, a strategy the water district is now exploring.

2. Creating a common language for interdisciplinary groups. Meta diagrams help everyone understand infrastructure as a whole system and then focus on those parts of the system in which resource use is high and in which opportunities may exist for signifi cant effi ciency, reuse, or substitution.

The diagrams provide a common language for exploring the key opportunities for integrated, holistic solutions.

By compiling and comparing a diversity of meta diagrams, one may identify a simple pattern language for physical fl ows at any scale (fi gure 2.12). The fi rst pattern, traditional, is typical of the oldest and also the poorest houses in China and India. Total resource use is relatively small, but the mix of primary resources is complex. For example, among energy fl ows, each fuel is carefully matched to the requirements of the end use for optimum effi ciency and lowest cost. Thus, coconut husks are used for heating water; liquefi ed petroleum gas is used for stove cooking; wood is used for open