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Central Valley Town Turns to Eco-Friendly Homes to Save Water

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The town of Reedley is planning an eco-friendly community that it says could use less water than the orchards that once populated the land. (Ezra David Romero/Valley Public Radio)

At the edge of the Central Valley town of Reedley, there’s a plot of ground that once grew 40 acres of green leafy peach and plum trees. It’s here that city leaders hope to build an eco-friendly village.

Reedley has historically grown in a pattern of cookie-cutter tract homes, but City Manager Nicole Zieba says the plan is to change that. Her team is starting with what she calls a “big idea” to convert those 40 acres into an eco-friendly community called Kings River Village.

Clusters of solar-powered homes won’t have big yards, but instead will sport small strips of drought-resistant plants. The community will also have a ponding basin for groundwater recharge — and estimates of the amount of water that could be recharged were surprising.

“What we found as we did a little delving into some of the studies was that the orchards would use more water than what’s envisioned to be used in this particular 40-acre development,” Zieba says.

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But the project isn’t without its critics. A lawsuit has been filed questioning whether the community will actually help restore the aquifer underneath the city.

Read the full story via Valley Public Radio

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