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Mike and Cathy Godfrey’s water-efficient landscape design features a diverse array of drought-tolerant plants. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District landscape diversity

Landscape Diversity Showcased By 2022 Olivenhain Municipal Water District Contest Winner

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Mike and Cathy Godfrey’s water-efficient landscape design is the winner of the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s 2022 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The Godfreys were recognized at the June OMWD Board of Directors meeting.

Before and after view of Mike and Cathy Godfrey's award-winning landscape design. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

Before and after view of Mike and Cathy Godfrey’s award-winning landscape design at their Encinitas home. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

“Maximizing water efficiency outdoors is especially important as drought conditions remain in effect across the state,” said OMWD Board Director Neal Meyers. “Showcasing the diversity and beauty of California-friendly landscaping can encourage others to swap their grass for climate-appropriate designs and bring awareness to the benefits of sustainable landscaping.”

Design reduces maintenance and watering needs

The Godfreys installed a drip irrigation system that provides a low volume of water that is healthy for plants and trees while resulting in little to no evaporation. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

A dry creek bed captures and directs rainfall, minimizing water runoff into the streets that can carry pollutants down the storm drain and into the ocean. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

The Godfreys’ water-efficient landscape design at their Encinitas home displays a variety of drought-tolerant plants and succulents selected to reduce yard maintenance and watering needs. They installed a drip irrigation system that provides a low volume of water that is healthy for plants and trees while resulting in little to no evaporation.

A dry creek bed captures and directs rainfall, minimizing water runoff into the streets that can carry pollutants down the storm drain and into the ocean.

The Godfreys installed a drip irrigation system that provides a low volume of water that is healthy for plants and trees while resulting in little to no evaporation. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

The Godfreys installed a drip irrigation system that provides a low volume of water that is healthy for plants and trees while resulting in little to no evaporation. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District

The WaterSmart Landscape Contest is held annually by water agencies throughout San Diego County to highlight attractive landscapes that use less water than conventional turf-heavy landscapes. Winning entries exhibit excellence in curb appeal, design, appropriate plant selection, and water-efficient irrigation.

Find tips and resources on how to create a WaterSmart home and garden at www.watersmartsd.org/.

(Editor’s note: The Olivenhain Municipal Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

Summer of Water Conservation in California

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

State, regional, and local leaders are joining forces to urge water conservation across San Diego County and statewide at the start of summer. With drought conditions worsening in every corner of the Southwest, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called on residents and businesses to take additional conservation measures to help ease the effects of extreme drought during the hot summer months.

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Designing Your WaterSmart Living Landscape to Fit Your Life

/in , , /by /Water News Network

When designing your WaterSmart Living landscape, you want your new outdoor space to fit your house, your neighborhood, and your lifestyle. Finding that fit begins by asking a few basic questions.

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From The Sewage To Your Cup. Can Recycling Water Save Southern California?

/in , , /by /LAistby Erin Stone

To state the obvious: California has a water problem. That’s why more than 6 million Southern Californians can water outside only once or twice a week as of June 1.

But experts say conservation alone can’t solve our water woes. So what does water security look like in a drier future? This story focuses on one piece of the puzzle: recycling wastewater. Let’s dig in.

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Major Water Reductions Cause Major Concern For Locals

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley Pressby Joyce Lobeck

Farmers in Imperial County feel like they’ve borne the “lion’s share” of cutbacks in use of water from the Colorado River as the megadrought gripping the West the last couple of decades continues to diminish that vital resource for the Southwest.

With elevations of the river’s reservoirs having now fallen to the point that significant additional cuts to the water supplied to the states that rely on the river are a grim likelihood next year, the Imperial Valley farmers are resigned to seeing further cuts in their water delivery. But they fear those cuts will adversely impact their farms, their lifestyle, their businesses and their communities.

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San Diegans Praised For Saving Water But Urged To Do More

/in , , /by /KPBSby Kitty Alvarado Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

“We are navigating across the American West with unprecedented drought, uncharted conditions.”

That was the dire warning from California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot during a news conference Thursday at the headquarters of the San Diego County Water Authority. He said federal water officials were worried too.

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‘SAVE OUR WATER’: Signs Urge Californians To Limit Outdoor Watering Amid Drought

/in , , /by /ABC7 KRCRby Nazy Javid

Beginning Friday, June 24, and running through Monday, June 27, Caltrans electronic signs across the state will display the message “Severe Drought. Limit Outdoor Watering.” The messaging raises awareness of the urgent need for Californians to save water as the state faces severe drought. Limiting outdoor watering is one of the best ways Californians can cut back on water use – outdoor watering accounts for up to 60% of the average Californians’ water use, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

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‘A Subtraction Problem:’ A Shrinking Colorado River Faces Sharp, Sudden Cuts

/in , /by /The Nevada Independentby Daniel Rothberg

Within the next two months, Colorado River negotiators face a daunting task: Develop ways to reduce use by an enormous amount, or the federal government will make the cuts on its own.

Earlier this month, the federal government told the seven states in the Colorado River Basin that reservoir levels are so low they face a pressing crisis that warrants large-scale conservation, even as water users negotiate long-term operating guidelines for a shrinking river in an arid future.

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Opinion: The Drought-Parched West Wants To Take Mississippi River Water? Fat Chance! Or Is It?

/in , /by /Desert News

Leave it to the Westerners to come up with solutions to their problems by causing problems for others.  Las Vegas resident Bill Nichols’ June 22 suggestion of diverting Mississippi River water to the Southwest to help solve the Southwest’s drought problem is nothing more than a plan to steal, under federal-government oversight at taxpayers’ expense, water that belongs to the Midwest. Bill doesn’t say what the Midwesterners who are deprived of this diverted water will do for their water needs.

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As Summer Begins, Thinking About Our Drought Problem: Empathy

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Steven P. Dinkin

In the rainless season we call summer in California, images of shrinking bodies of water have a way of looming large.

After more than 22 years of drought compounded by warmer temperatures, Lake Mead and Lake Powell — water sources that are vital to life in the Southwest — have declined to their lowest levels since they were filled. The two reservoirs now sit at just 28 percent of capacity.

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