Note that if you purchase something via one of our links, including Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
In face of droughts, the famed botanical garden in Montecito has engineered a system to catch and store stormwater for irrigation.
Lotusland CEO Rebecca Anderson joined a routine call in 2021 with other Southern California botanical garden directors and heard “group panic” as leaders compared notes on the drought that was under way — and looking like it was not going to end any time soon. Some of the most senior people in the field of botanical gardens, she recalls, were in a state of full alarm.
“As a new director,” Anderson says, “it was helpful for me to hear this group’s concern … It validated the fact that climate change is here. What are we going to do about it? These botanical treasures are threatened.”
The call crystallized what Lotusland was facing. It wasn’t a blip. It was a new reality that could jeopardize the future of a world‑class botanical garden built on living, water‑thirsty plant collections.
Reimagining the Future
Lotusland had already identified the need for its next Master Plan. The garden was prepared to tackle everything from more ADA access and restoration of historic buildings and infrastructure, along with other considerations for the future. These drought‑era conversations would inform that plan.
“The beauty of those conversations colliding,” Anderson says, “was when I realized our Master Plan had to consider our water use.”
An anonymous donor stepped forward with a grant for a study of the sustainability of the institution. That grant enabled Lotusland to widen the frame and, Anderson says, inspired the team to think more broadly.
“Not just what needs to happen for public access,” she says. “But what does it mean to be a responsible and resource-independent campus and garden when it comes to water efficiency and energy conservation? And we honed in on the water as our top priority.”
Lotusland commissioned a water study with the experts at Kimley Horn, who did a deep analysis of the garden’s water consumption and use. “With healthy soils and sustainable horticulture practices, Lotusland had already reduced our water consumption over the last 20 years,” Anderson says. “Now the question becomes what we can do with infrastructure investments to respond to climate change.”
A Powerful Solution
The study’s findings were both sobering and galvanizing for Anderson. “There is no water storage on Lotusland’s property,” she says. “We use well-water to care for the garden. We asked: What if we could store stormwater runoff, infiltrate the water table, and fill our own catchment systems, engaging multiple storage solutions? When we are able to store one million gallons, we will offset our well-water use by 40%.”
Lotusland certainly liked the sound of that. “The water study included findings for a variety of infiltration and storage opportunities ranging from Indigenous techniques like stone-lined dry wells and bioretention basins to more modern technology — including smaller European modular water storage solutions to large catchment vessels,” Anderson says. “Our long-range plans include a combination of all of these techniques.”
The first step recommended in the 2024 Master Plan was for Lotusland to build an independent water reservoir on the property. Lotusland’s existing water reservoir sits two parcels up on a small easement and is more than 100 years old. That storage reservoir, built in the Ralph Kinton Stevens nursery era, is difficult to access and is antiquated. “Through the studies and planning process, we determined we require water storage and access on our immediate property,” Anderson says.
We use well-water to care for the garden. We asked: What if we could store stormwater runoff, infiltrate the water table, and fill our own catchment systems, engaging multiple storage solutions?
– Lotusland CEO Rebecca Anderson
The plan may be ambitious, but recent capital investments made the idea of creating a renewable water supply and system seem possible. The renovation and restoration of the Japanese garden included extensive infrastructure that directs the water runoff traveling down Cold Spring Road and through the garden into pipes that empty down Sycamore Canyon Road. In other words, water was being directed off of the property.
The water study flipped that logic. For Lotusland leaders, it was now obvious. “If we install storage receptacles underground at the site where the water flows, we can capture and reuse it for irrigation,” Anderson says. That became the genesis of a heavily engineered, highly sophisticated project that broke ground in January.
Anderson’s description of the engineering is disarmingly plain. “We dig an enormous hole in the ground and put storage receptacles in,” she says. “We connect these units and waterproof them. We filter the water, connect to a pumping system, and combine it with well-water as needed. It’s essentially a series of tanks that becomes a huge cistern.”
Lotusland is in phase one of this ideal future now. Anderson reports that the garden broke ground after the January rains and has completed the grading. Installation of the receptacles and reservoir is under way.
The Master Plan also unlocks other visitor needs, like adding wheelchair accessibility for the first time in the corridor of the Tropical and Cycad gardens. As the plans unfold, visitors will see reforestation with new plant stories, including a new oak woodland and a perimeter riparian garden with healthy self‑sustaining and native plants.
For Anderson, the scale and stakes of the Master Plan are clear: “It’s a visionary approach to protect and provide for Lotusland’s most essential resource for the future.”
What You Can Do: Be Waterwise in Your Own Garden
- Design your garden around water first: Capture rain, direct runoff into beds, and use it on‑site.
- Improve soil with compost and mulch instead of relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- Choose plants that fit your local climate and future conditions, especially natives and drought‑tolerant species.
- Treat your yard as habitat, not just decoration: Layer plants, support pollinators, and avoid broad‑spectrum pesticides.
- Regularly reassess trees, drainage, and hardscape for fire, wind, and flood risk, and make gradual, proactive changes.
- Rain gardens look as lovely as regular gardens, and they can be a powerful tool to mitigate flooding and restore groundwater. Check out this story about one man who installed one in his yard, and follow the simple instructions to create your own.
