Sebastian Bertsch

Sebastian has been designing water systems in the north bay since 2015 with a focus in rainwater harvesting, greywater irrigation and ecological stormwater management. He has designed and managed the installation of many residential and commercial rainwater harvesting projects in Sonoma County, including facilitating novel permits such as residential “rainwater to toilet”. Sebastian began his career as a metal fabricator, shop foreman, high-school engineering instructor, manufacturing consultant, then as a mechanical designer and technician for radar terrain mapping. He has participated in many local governance agencies, having been a member of the Santa Rosa Plains GSA Advisory Committee, Sonoma Alternate Water Sources Working Group and CAFF and participated in the development of the county ordinances for OWTS and commercial cannabis water use requirements. Since moving to Sonoma County his focus has been on how to leverage engineering to push ecological function into all aspects of our built environment, and trying to harness the interdependencies inside the soil-water-air-carbon-nitrogen nexus.

Fun Facts: Sebastian used to operate water-wheel powered equipment such as sawmills, grain grinding and wool processing machines, all while wearing a historically accurate 1830’s top hat. He grafts fruits trees, fixes motorcycles and is constantly looking for a better meatloaf recipe.