It's time to reclaim the rain
I sit to enjoy the sunrise. The morning fog is here. Water covers every leaf on my garden. I am grateful.
Around 10 a.m., the sun rises and I see water evaporate. This happens every day over the span of a week. And I worry.
When interviewing people about water in the Willamette Valley, I hear echoes: “It is not raining like it used to”; “The seasons are changing and the same plants do not survive like they used to.”
The National Weather Service confirms all of our concerns: “The water supply forecast for the spring and summer of 2022 is below average for most of Oregon ... much above-normal precipitation and snowpack will be needed to largely reduce drought impacts.”
This is not a trivial fact. As the U.S. Geological Survey attests: Rain “is the primary connection in the water cycle that provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth.” We need rain and snow to replenish wells, creeks, rivers, lagoons. Without rain and snow, life on earth is endangered by perennial drought, fires and waters that do not have the proper oxygenation and mineral components to sustain all life.
We must call the rain and snow to stay with us. How?
We can recognize ourselves as scientists who observe rain patterns and adjust our use of water accordingly.
We can grow plants that help the soil retain and filter water — instead of letting it evaporate quickly — so it can drip into our aquifers and watersheds.
We can learn to create water gardens that allow stormwater in our gutters to be re-used by the watershed.
We can harvest rainwater, use compost toilets, as well as re-use greywaters from our sinks and washers. We can develop educational programming, and public policies, that better enable and incentivize people to do so.
And, of course, we can conserve knowing that every drop of water that comes out of the faucet is a gift from the rain: a precious resource becoming less available.
Some of us also talk to the clouds and the rain. We welcome them. It is amazing when I see them coming after just a brief chat. Most traditional knowledges of the world believe that we can talk to our elemental relatives. Why not reclaim those ancestral practices?
I am not sure if you used to be like me. For a long time, as the wonder produced by rain and the teachings of elders during my childhood faded away, I saw the rain as an obstacle to my day, one that required rain gear to get on my bike to go to work and wearing rain boots to avoid getting my feet and socks wet with cold water. Now I miss those moist mornings and evenings riding through the gentle rains that used to grace us daily for months.
If this is you, join me in this journey to reclaim rain and snow, to ask them to stay with us and to hold myself accountable for their continued existence. This is not a straightforward journey, but together we are more likely to succeed than alone.
Alai Reyes-Santos writes a regular column for The Register-Guard.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: In Oregon, it's time to reclaim the rain
