River-Friendly Landscaping is…

an environmentally friendly, holistic approach to gardening that works with nature to reduce waste, prevent pollution, and support the integrity of one of California’s key ecosystems -- the Sacramento River Watershed. A watershed is an area of land where all water that is under it or on it drains into the same place. Click here to learn more about the Sacramento River Watershed Program.

River-Friendly Landscaping (RFL) practices are designed to help you create a healthy, beautiful, vibrant landscape while conserving water, reducing yard waste, and preventing pollution of our air and local rivers. These practices are based on an understanding and protection of our watershed by creating and maintaining healthy, living soil; capturing and using rainwater as a resource; using climate-appropriate plants; and using highly efficient irrigation.

River-Friendly Landscaping is based on these 7 principles:

• Landscape Locally
• Nurture the Soil
• Wildlife Habitat
• Less to the Landfill
• Conserve Water
• Conserve Energy
• Water & Air Quality

Using the RFL principles provides many benefits for you and our community. For example, these practices will reduce storm water and irrigation runoff leaving your property and eliminate pesticides which are carried by runoff to our creeks, streams, rivers, and ultimately the ocean. Here, they can harm fish and wildlife, and make the rivers unsafe for drinking, fishing, boating and swimming. For more information about protecting our valuable water resources through storm water pollution prevention, visit the Sacramento Strom Water Quality Partnership..