Dumping billions of gallons on California every year, rain is the state’s way out of drought — if only all that water could be captured instead of washing into drains and out to sea.

An ambitious new collaboration spanning five University of California campuses, including UC Santa Barbara, hopes to do exactly that. The research partnership of UCSB, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Riverside and UC San Diego aims to revolutionize the collection and management of stormwater — and demonstrate its potential for addressing drought and flood risk. A $1.9 million UC Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives (MRPI) grant will help get it done. 

The project, “Fighting Drought with Stormwater,” is now underway. Work began in earnest in early August — which happens to be National Water Quality Month. The five Southern California UC campuses will serve as living laboratories for studying natural treatment systems, such as bioswales and biofilters, or rain gardens.  

To read the full article visit.