Altman Plants
Reduce, Recycle, Remediate
Facility Overview
• 420 Acres near Lake Mathews Riverside
County
• More than 2 million square feet of greenhouse
space
• Supply Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal Mart, Costco
nationwide
• Annual water usage more than 300 million
gallons
Nursery Overview
Project Goals
• Reduce purchased water cost
• Ensure water supply – both long term and
protection from short term interruptions
• Reduce reliance on limited municipal water
resources
• Provide acceptable water quality
• Eliminate discharge
Recycle System components
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Field design to capture runoff
Gravity flow to capture basin
Vegetated areas (3)
Barley straw hay baffles
Canna boxes
Sand Filters
Screen Filter
Acid Injection
Recycle System Components
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
10 acre foot receiving basin
27 acre foot holding basin
Duplex pumps at receiving basin
Duplex pumps at holding basin
Lined basins
30 miles of canals
Chlorine Dioxide injection
Remediation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reducing pH
Reducing EC
Reducing Nitrates
Pesticide or herbicide residues
Other nutrient excesses
Algae control
Dissolved Solids
Duckweed
Water Quality Monitoring
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
pH
EC
Alkalinity
Pathogens
Chlorine
Nitrates
TDS
Water Quality Monitoring
•
•
•
•
•
Sulphates
Sodium
Glyphosate
Marengo
Paclobutrazol
Reduce use per acre
• Irrigator training
• Change irrigation heads
• Sensor based irrigation management
Technical Resources
•
•
•
•
In house – people with a passion for water
NRCS
Clean Water 3
Ewing Irrigation