Grants help homeowners end watershed problem

Country Club North’s 145 homeowners knew they had a watershed problem on their property and needed professional expertise to solve it.

Instead of increasing HOA dues for professional services, members on the board of directors’ Long Range Planning Committee brainstormed.

They applied for and received two grants through PRO Neighborhoods, an organization dedicated to supporting grassroots neighborhood groups in Tucson and Pima County.

PRO stands for People, Resources and Organizations, and they believe in local leadership, volunteerism and the ability of communities to create change from within.

“We wanted the area to look nice but first had to solve the problem of water flow,” said Marty Faut, head of the Long Range Planning Committee.

They studied the problem, expressed their needs and applied for a design grant to abate the water flow problem.

“We received two grants for this effort,” she said. “The first was in design only, no money. It was to design the swales and basins.”

A swale is a ditch dug on contour with the dirt from it piled on the downhill side of the ditch to create a berm. Vegetation is planted around it. This allows for managing water run-off, increasing rain water infiltration and promoting soil conversation, Faut said.

Stantec Design donated the services of a professional landscape planner and environmental engineer and Pima County Flood Control donated the services of a hydrologist and certified floodplain manager. The committee also worked with a civil engineer from Permaculture Design Services.

“The second grant for nearly $5,000 was to initiate the project outlined in the first grant ... to buy plants, shrubs and trees, pay for professional services in creating swales and for planting,” Faut said.

It’s called the Abrego/Jazmin Watershed Project because the property in need of landscaping redesign is on Jazmin just west of Abrego.

Working with the other professionals, planning and design service award program manager Judith Anderson from PRO Neighborhoods worked with Country Club North to accomplish their goals. Anderson suggested plants indigenous to the Santa Cruz River Valley and homeowner Faith Dustrud chose them.

Straw has been placed over a newly seeded area to protect it from birds, and rolls of chicken wire were being cut to create cages to protect new plantings from eager rabbits. The project is nearly done.

Both will need water for the next year and that’s the job of homeowner and watershed project manager Jack Sperry.

“Our Watershed Project started out to solve the soil erosion in the parklike area of our common ground,” Faut said. “It’s turned out to be an effective solution to that problem and a beautification project as well. We are all very happy.”

Any HOA wishing to see the techniques used in this ecosystem restoration may contact Faut at 399-9359.

Contact Green Valley freelance reporter Ellen Sussman at ellen2414@cox.net.

PRO Neighborhoods

PRO Neighborhoods is a partnership of the City of Tucson, Pima County, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona.

PRO provides grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 to neighborhood groups of five or more committed residents who have developed an idea for an improvement project. They welcome imaginative ideas.

All projects funded by PRO are “neighborhood-led, built on people’s skills and passions and result in improved community relationships.”

For more information: www.proneighborhoods.org or call 520-882-5885. Staff is available to provide assistance and/or meet with residents on weekdays, evenings or weekends.