“Are you going to run out of water?” is the first question people ask when they find out I’m from Arizona. The answer is that some people already have, others soon may and it’s going to get much worse without dramatic changes.
Unsustainable water practices, drought, and climate change are causing this crisis across the U.S. Southwest. States are drawing less water from the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-11 10:33:112022-07-11 14:35:26Opinion: A Water Strategy for the Parched West: Have Cities Pay Farmers to Install More Efficient Irrigation Systems
The agency managing the East County Advanced Water Purification program took another step toward legally confiscating a sewage pumping station that now belongs to the city of San Diego.
Earlier this month, the Joint Powers Authority for AWP filed a complaint in San Diego Superior Court asking the court to grant the JPA eminent domain rights for the station, located at the western border of Santee, on Mission Gorge Road next to the west-bound ramp for SR 52.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-11 10:32:492022-07-11 10:32:49AWP Proceeds With Effort to Take San Diego’s Pump Station
Irrigation is an essential part of any good landscape design. It ensures plants and trees get the water they need to thrive without wasting a drop. Once you know how much water your landscape plants require, it’s time to take a closer look at your irrigation system.
Whether you are working with a professional designer or are doing the project yourself, the following checklist will help you keep track of the main design decisions involved in irrigation design.
Start with this informational video about WaterSmart Living Landscape irrigation
Evaluate your existing irrigation system and determine if it can be maintained in its current condition or if you need to upgrade it. Some irrigation systems can be upgraded by changing nozzles, converting to drip emitters, or adding a smart controller, while others may need to be completely redesigned.
Irrigation options fall into categories
High-efficiency irrigation is the most efficient method to deliver water to plants is low-flow irrigation. It delivers water from the valve through a filter and then through a network of lateral pipes and sometimes flexible tubing, to the individual emission devices such as drip emitters, in-line drip emitters, or bubblers. Pressure compensating devices are always the most efficient option.
Low flow irrigation is a good choice for trees and shrub areas and should be used in any landscaped areas next to hardscape and in areas less than eight feet wide to prevent runoff from overspray. When using drip emitters, reduce maintenance and ensure long-term durability by selecting good quality tubing and designing for at least two emitters per shrub.
Moderate efficiency irrigation is the next most efficient types of irrigation include rotating or low precipitation (typically for spaces eight to 30 feet in size). These nozzles are a better choice than conventional spray heads for watering turf because they have a lower application rate – they water slowly. Your watering times will increase, but these sprinklers do not produce mist, and they apply water at a rate turf can absorb it, reducing runoff.
Low-efficiency irrigation. The least efficient types of automatic irrigation include conventional spray irrigation and impact rotors. These types of high precipitation irrigation distribution systems generally apply water faster than the soil can absorb. Installing a new system with low-efficiency irrigation is not recommended. If you have an existing conventional spray system, you can easily retrofit it with new low precipitation nozzles.
Get smart with a smart controller
This new landscape includes a drip-irrigation system, rotating nozzles, and a smart irrigation controller to schedule efficient water use. Photo: Otay Water District
Upgrade to a smart controller, an automatic controller (also called a timer or clock) is either weather-based or has historical weather data included as a reference. Some systems allow for adding a weather sensor or moisture detection system that automatically adjusts your watering schedule in response to current weather or soil moisture level.
Smart controllers can turn off your sprinklers when it rains and increase the frequency and/or duration of watering in hotter weather. Locate the controller in a place that is easy for you to access, such as the garage.
Verify your new landscape water use
WaterSmart landscape irrigation aims to apply water as efficiently as possible. This means using low flow drip or bubblers whenever possible and in areas with overhead sprays, providing the correct pressure and equipment layout to ensure even coverage to maximize efficiency.
Once you have determined what type of irrigation you would like to use, divide your yard into zones and note what kind of irrigation you plan to use in each zone. Contact some of the major irrigation manufacturers to obtain an irrigation design guide to help you with the specifics of your irrigation layout. Some irrigation manufacturers even offer free irrigation design services.
It is important to double-check to make sure your design meets the target landscape water use after installation. You may need to adjust the design to meet your target to maximize water savings.
(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies offer programs, resources, and incentives to improve water-use efficiency for residential, commercial, and agricultural users. WaterSmart choices are a way of life in the region. Stay WaterSmart San Diego! For more water-use efficiency resources, go to WaterSmart.SD.org.)
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Smart-Irrigation-Month-EfficientWatering-845X450.jpg450845Gayle Falkenthalhttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngGayle Falkenthal2022-07-11 08:00:182022-07-11 13:28:06Irrigate Your WaterSmart Landscape Like a Pro
California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced financial support to four urgent drought relief projects in Humboldt, Los Angeles, Modoc, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties through the Small Community Drought Relief Program.
In coordination with the State Water Resources Control Board, DWR awarded $2 million in funding to support four projects that will improve drought resilience and address local water needs.
Farmers and cities on the east side of the Valley may get more water than they originally thought.
Friant Water Authority, which operates the Friant-Kern Canal, said in a recent memo on its website it is confident its contractors will not only get the 15% allocation of surface water deliveries announced in February but that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will likely increase the amount to 20%, possibly as early as this week.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-07 09:35:002022-07-07 13:02:06East Valley Farmers and Cities May Get More Surface Water This Summer
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Wednesday that will provide $1.2 billion over three years to boost long-term water supplies for the desert state and implement conservation efforts that will see more immediate effects.
The legislation that was hammered out over months during the just-completed legislative session is viewed as the most significant since the state implemented a groundwater protection plan in 1980.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-07 09:30:562022-07-07 13:02:21Ducey Signs $1.2B Water Plan as Arizona Faces Cutbacks
Colorado’s water leaders have released an updated blueprint detailing how the state will manage and conserve water supplies as climate change and population growth strain the system in unprecedented ways.
The first Colorado Water Plan was released in 2015 after back-to-back years of historic drought and sought to address the possibility that the state might not have enough water in the next few decades.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-07 09:29:022022-07-07 13:00:26Colorado Outlines Its Plan for How the State Will Deal With Water Shortages Worsened by Climate Change and Population Growth
Trees are a very essential part of California’s infrastructure, with some of them taking 20 to 30 years to mature. Despite the drought, watering these important resources remains vital.
“We don’t want to put them at risk for various diseases because they’re not getting enough water. The tree tends to get used to the amount of water that’s there in the area. So as we dial back watering our lawns, we have to be aware that we might be stressing the tree that’s gotten used to the watering that we previously were doing,” Chief Sustainability Officer of StreetsLA Greg Spotts told “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-07 09:28:222022-07-07 13:01:17The Importance of Watering Trees During the California Drought Seasons
There are two schools of thought on how to navigate the West’s historic drought: Use less water or find new ways to make more of it usable. A few cities are trying to do both, and so far, it’s spared them from some of the most stringent drought restrictions.
In the last drought, Santa Monica used to rely heavily on water imported from Northern California. But now less than half of Santa Monica’s water is imported, which spared them from the mandatory outdoor water restrictions that began at the beginning of June.
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-07 09:24:292022-07-07 13:00:55Two LA Cities Are Innovating Their Way Out of Severe Drought Restrictions
California’s water issues may be complicated. But the rainfall shortage driving the state’s current drought comes down to basic math.
“In most places we are missing an entire year of rain over the past three years,” said Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services in Half Moon Bay. “It’s like if you worked three years but only got paid for two. You are going to be hurting.”
https://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.png00Mike Leehttps://www.waternewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WNN-Horizontal-White-Blue2.pngMike Lee2022-07-06 11:07:312022-07-06 11:12:29California Is Missing an Entire Year of Rainfall Since Mid-2019, New Figures Show
