The Fallbrook and Rainbow Water Districts want to leave the San Diego County Water Authority because of high costs.
The water district’s say the San Diego County Water Authority is not serving San Diegans well, and they want to join a different authority in Riverside County.
Sustainable landscape demonstration gardens inspire homeowners to create and maintain their own beautiful, water-efficient landscapes. In California, where more than half of urban water usage goes towards landscape irrigation, any reduction in water consumption contributes to successful conservation efforts.
The San Diego County Water Authority and several member agencies host demonstration gardens that residents can visit and gather ideas for their own landscape makeovers and water-efficient upgrades. With gardens flourishing in late spring, it’s the perfect time for a self-guided garden tour.
The Fallbrook and Rainbow water districts have pushed back on an Assembly bill that would require a countywide public vote to approve their exit from the San Diego County Water Authority, accusing the city of San Diego of attempting to increase its power.
The two rural districts said in a statement that the city is “trying to make it harder — if not impossible” — for other districts in the county get less expensive water.
Sustainable landscape demonstration gardens inspire homeowners to create and maintain their own beautiful, water-efficient landscapes. In California, where more than half of urban water usage goes towards landscape irrigation, any reduction in water consumption contributes to successful conservation efforts.
The San Diego County Water Authority and several member agencies host demonstration gardens that residents can visit and gather ideas for their own landscape makeovers and water-efficient upgrades. With gardens flourishing in late spring, it’s the perfect time for a self-guided garden tour.
The four principles of sustainable landscaping are on display at the San Diego County Water Authority Sustainable Landscaping Demonstration Garden outside its Kearny Mesa office in San Diego. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The Water Authority sustainable landscape demonstration garden at its Kearny Mesa headquarters showcases how homeowners can increase water efficiency and boost the environmental benefits of outdoor spaces through sustainable landscaping practices.
The 3,000-square-foot garden incorporates well-known water-efficient techniques such as climate-appropriate plants and high-efficiency irrigation. It also includes features to enhance water efficiency and reduce stormwater runoff.
Native, water-wise plants thrive in one of the Helix Water District’s demonstration gardens. Photo: Helix Water District
Helix Water District created its first demonstration landscape in July 2020 at the district’s administration office in La Mesa. The project beautifies the neighborhood and serves as an inspiration to install low-water-use landscaping.
Three unique water-wise gardens include a Mediterranean garden on University Avenue, a desert landscape on Lee Avenue, and a California native landscape at the main entrance on Quince Street. Each garden boasts an array of flowers, colors, and textures and is easily visible from the sidewalk. The plants in these gardens are adapted to San Diego’s climate, requiring half to a fifth of the water needed by a traditional lawn. The gardens, at 7811 University Avenue in La Mesa, are low maintenance and provide habitat for local wildlife.
The Helix Water District demonstration garden includes interactive elements such as descriptive signs with QR codes that visitors can scan to learn more about specific plants. Photo: Helix Water District
Plant markers display each plant’s name so visitors can write down their favorites and a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to access additional information such as light and water needs. Visitors can access hwd.fyi/get-inspired to download the garden plans, obtain plant lists, and view several resources available to help start their own garden.
Customers can visit the California-friendly demonstration garden and hydroponic gardening tower at OMWD’s headquarters free any day of the year. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District
The Olivenhain Municipal Water District headquarters houses a sustainable landscape demonstration garden showcasing water-efficient landscaping techniques. Customers can visit the California-friendly demonstration garden and hydroponic gardening tower free of charge throughout the year, either in person or online.
The garden highlights four key principles of sustainable landscaping: healthy soils, rainwater as a resource, climate-appropriate plants, and low-water use irrigation. Its location is 1966 Olivenhain Road, Encinitas.
More than 175 water-efficient plant and tree species are on display at the Padre Dam Municipal Water District Demonstration Garden. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District
The Padre Dam Municipal Water District encourages East San Diego County residents to explore its water-efficient demonstration landscape to see more than 175 water-efficient plant and tree species. Padre Dam’s Water Conservation Garden is open to the public during business hours and located at its Customer Service Center at 9300 Fanita Parkway in Santee.
Monkey Flowers, Chalk Dudleya, wild cucumber, and Penstamon are all blooming at the Kumeyaay Ipai Interpretive Center in Poway. Photo: Courtesy Kumeyaay Ipai Interpretive Center at Poway via Facebook
The City of Poway honors its Native American heritage with its Native Plant Demonstration Garden as part of the Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center. It’s open the third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for both docent-led and self-guided tours, located at 13104 Carriage Road, Poway.
A thriving community of Native Americans populated Pauwai long before the Spanish arrived. The evidence of their lives and work can be seen today at the Center, founded by a partnership with the City of Poway, Friends of the Kumeyaay, and the San Pasqual Band of Indians.
A video tour showcasing Native American plant uses can be viewed online here.
In 2023, a Little Free Library was installed at the north end of the Vallecitos Water District garden, stocked with garden books to inspire residents to adopt water-wise gardening practices. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
The Vallecitos Water District developed its demonstration garden in 2010 with design plans from Palomar College Environmental Architecture and Design students. The project received support from local businesses, organizations, and District employees.
The garden showcases sustainable practices and includes a rainwater harvesting system that collects rain from the roof into three storage tanks with a combined 2,500-gallon capacity. This system reduces the reliance on potable water, and the captured rainwater is used for the prominent water features in the garden which run on solar power.
California-friendly plants are supported with plant-nurturing mulch, compost, and biosolid pellets made from recycled wastewater solids produced at a treatment plant partially owned by Vallecitos, the plants are bolstered with moisture and nutrients. This eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers.
The garden features a weather-based irrigation controller display, durable aluminum shade structures, dry riverbeds, artificial turf, micro-irrigation, and an artistic sculpture highlighting the value of water. A new private patio area has been added, and all pathways are now ADA-accessible.
Vallecitos’ sustainable demonstration garden has achieved recognition as a “Certified Wildlife Habitat” by the National Wildlife Federation in 2013 and has been acknowledged as a “Certified Earth Friendly Garden” by the Master Gardeners Association of San Diego County. In 2023, a Little Free Library was installed at the north end of the garden, stocked with garden books to inspire residents to adopt water-wise gardening practices. The garden is located at 201 Vallecitos De Oro, San Marcos.
The Water Conservation Garden features a Native Habitat Garden, the Compost Exhibit, the Veggie Garden, and the Succulent Garden. Take a free, docent-led tour the first Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. Illustration: The Water Conservation Garden
The Water Conservation Garden is a nearly five-acre display showcasing water conservation through a series of themed exhibits. Displays include a native plant garden and vegetable garden as well as how-to gardening and irrigation exhibits. Admission is free and the garden can be viewed on a self-guided tour or through one of its programs including classes and special events. The Water Conservation Garden is located at 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West, El Cajon.
Using water efficiently is a way of life and responsibility in the San Diego region. Residents have adopted habits that not only save money, but also create vibrant yards, reduce energy use, protect natural resources, and reduce landscape maintenance.
In a 2007 survey published in The Journal of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, half of those surveyed during a visit to San Diego County’s Water Conservation Garden found reported making a change to their landscape due to their visit to the water conservation demonstration garden, illustrating their value to the community.
La Mesa resident Nick Voinov stands in front of his 2022 Helix Water District Landscape Contest winning yard. Photo: Helix Water District
Along with the sustainable landscape demonstration gardens, many of the Water Authority’s member agencies provide opportunities for their customers to enter the annual WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The stories of the winners are regularly published in the Water News Network and can be found in the Features tab on the WNN homepage under the Conservation Corner category. The WaterSmart Living category, also under the Features tab, offers resources and tips on how to convert water-wasting landscapes to beautiful water-wise gardens.
(Editor’s Note: The Helix Water District, City of Poway, Olivenhain Municipal Water District, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, and the Vallecitos Water District are five of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego region.)
An Assembly bill introduced late last week would require a countywide vote before two agricultural districts in north San Diego County could leave the San Diego County Water Authority.
Assembly Bill 530, introduced Thursday by Tasha Boerner Horvath of Encinitas, would amend California’s Water Authority Act, to require a majority vote in both the separating district and the county to complete a detachment.
In a historic consensus, California, alongside the six other states that rely on the Colorado River for survival, announced an agreement last week for a plan to cut back water usage over the next three years.
The proposal drafted by the three lower basin states – California, Arizona and Nevada – would cut water use from the river by at least 3 million acre-feet by the end of 2026 through conservation to prevent the river’s reservoirs from falling to critically low levels.
San Diego leaders have directed the region’s water wholesaler to pinch every penny this year in the agency’s $1.8 billion budget, as ratepayers continue to grapple with ever-higher utility bills.
The San Diego County Water Authority has in response made substantial changes to its spending plan, looking to cut several positions and delay about $48 million in capital projects, including a pumped hydropower facility at San Vicente Dam.
Leaders of Southern California’s water wholesaler hailed a three-state agreement announced Monday aimed at dramatically reducing the amount of water pulled from the Colorado River over the next three years.
The proposed deal among California, Nevada, Arizona and the federal government would stave off what could have been far more dramatic cuts imposed by federal regulators had the states not brokered a deal by the end of the month.
The San Diego County Water Authority reports it was recently honored with two Awards of Distinction from the California Public Information Officers, a professional industry group. The awards for government outreach campaigns are named EPIC, an acronym for Excellence in Public Information and Communication.
When California and six other Western states failed to meet a Jan. 31 federal deadline for deciding how to allocate water from the drought-ravaged Colorado River that supplies drinking water to 40 million people — 1 in 8 Americans — it was the Golden State that called the others all wet.
Citing the labyrinthine world of vested water rights, which guarantees it the most water from the 1,450-mile-long river, California objected to a plan backed by the other states — Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah — on the grounds it should not have to bear an equal share of the federal government’s call for an annual reduction in Colorado River water of at least 15 percent.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
