Water cuts could be coming to the Golden State.
“Right now there are currently no cuts in California, however, it’s being discussed,” said Robert Schettler, Public Information Officer for the Imperial Irrigation District.
California is negotiating whether or not to voluntarily conserve hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water due to the drought that’s stressing the Colorado River and its reservoir – Lake Mead.
Three San Marcos families invested their time and effort into transforming their front yards into beautiful water-efficient designs. Their hard work has paid off in lower water bills and being named the winners of the 2022 Vallecitos Water District Landscape Makeover Contest.
The winning project created by John and Jay Delaplane started as a way for John to reconnect after his father Jay retired. John saw the landscaping display in front of the Vallecitos Water District building, inspiring him to get started. Another catalyst was the opportunity to earn a turf removal rebate. “You can almost cover the costs if you do the work yourself,” said John.
The Delaplane home before its transformation. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Vallecitos Water District public information representative and UCCE Master Gardener Lisa Urabe said the Delaplanes received first place among many excellent entries due to the addition of a working bioswale.
“Some people will just put rocks down and make it a pretty dry riverbed, but this is a working bioswale,” said Urabe. Bioswales redirect and absorb rainwater running off roofs, preventing stormwater pollutants from reaching local waterways and the Pacific Ocean. “By installing a bioswale, it’s collecting all that water. It’s also helping to water those plants naturally. We highly recommend them,” said Urabe.
UCCE Master Gardener Lisa Urabe views the bioswale installed by the Delaplanes. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
“Growing up, my dad taught me about being environmentally conscious when we can,” said John Delaplane. “If everyone does their little part, it really does add up. A big reason we did it is to teach these lessons to my daughter, so she grows up with that same mindset.”
The Chens transformed their love for succulents into an award-winning landscape makeover. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Davis and Stephanie Chen and their two children all pitched in on their landscape makeover project. Their new design won second place.
After 18 years of living in their San Marcos home, Stephanie Chen said she decided to change their landscaping, inspired by her love for succulents. “I wanted to create something I like and enjoy. One day a crazy idea came to me – lucky my family supported me,” said Chen.
Stephanie Chen visited the home of San Diego-based landscape designer Laura Eubanks. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Daughter Brittany Chen said the family watched videos by San Diego based landscape designer Laura Eubanks to get inspiration.
“We would watch and brainstorm about it,” said Brittany. “The videos were super helpful. They not only taught us how to design a garden but also properly care for our garden, so they grow beautifully.”
David Chen said the Socal Turf Replacement program and the landscape makeover content gave them a lot of incentive to complete this project. “I encourage everybody to give it a try,” he said.
Tania and Tony Lopez tackled their landscape makeover on their own. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Married couple Tania and Tony Lopez tackled their landscape makeover on their own after receiving a district brochure and decided to change their landscape to save water. Their landscaping only needs minimal hand watering.
“It’s been in since March, and it’s doing pretty well,” said Tania Lopez, whose favorite features are the agaves and golden barrel. “Water conservation is very important. In California, we’re in a drought all the time. Being able to save water is a good thing.”
Five-year-old daughter Ava Lopez has gotten the message. “It’s important to save water for the earth,” said Ava.
Rebates, tips, classes, and other water-saving information: sdcwa.org/your-water/conservation/.
(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
The Olivenhain Municipal Water District received the WateReuse Association of California’s 2022 award for Recycled Water Community Outreach. The award was presented at WateReuse’s annual conference in San Francisco.
OMWD’s community outreach campaigns are intended to educate customers on the importance of water use efficiency, new supply development, and water reuse as a means to address future water supply challenges. To this end, recycled water is a focal point for OMWD’s public outreach campaigns. The recycled water award is another recognition of Olivenhain’s collaborative efforts to increase local, sustainable water supply sources in the region.
“Every drop of recycled water used on our landscapes replaces a drop of imported drinking water,” said OMWD Board Secretary Bob Topolavac. “With the state now in its third consecutive dry year, it is more critical than ever to be promoting the benefits of recycled water to new potential users to expand the use of this sustainable water supply.”
WateReuse previously recognized OMWD as California’s Agency of the Year in 2005 and again in 2019. Since that time, OMWD has expanded its recycled water distribution system such that it now meets 14 percent of its demands with recycled water.
Beyond its borders, OMWD encourages a regional approach to recycled water infrastructure. It is the lead agency of the North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition, a group of nine North County agencies that coordinate across jurisdictional boundaries to connect recycled water sources with demands. By working together on the North County Regional Recycled Water Project, these agencies expect to reduce potable water use by nearly 11 billion gallons per year by 2035.
Formed in 1990, the WateReuse Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the beneficial and efficient uses of high quality, locally produced, sustainable water sources for the betterment of society and the environment through advocacy, education and outreach, research, and membership.
(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.)
Five students from Chula Vista and El Cajon schools have been selected from 123 submissions as the winners of Otay Water District’s 2022 Water is Life Student Poster Contest.
Susan and Steve Matloff are doing what they do most days when they are at home: spending time in their front yard with their kids, talking with neighbors, playing with their dog Blue and passing home-grown onions to random passersby.
When they installed raised vegetable beds alongside the sidewalk, they fantasized about living off the land despite warnings from friends that people might steal their produce.
“If someone wants to take a bell pepper, good on them,” says Steve, 49. “My office overlooks the garden, and every day I see people stop and look at our garden. Sometimes I run out there and talk to them. Our daughter Isabelle has been known to pull out a carrot and hand it to people walking by. The conversations start there. It’s part of what we wanted for our yard: to be a statement and community builder.”
Five students from Chula Vista and El Cajon schools have been selected from 123 submissions as the winners of Otay Water District’s 2022 Water is Life Student Poster Contest. The annual contest helps to promote water-use efficiency through student art programs. The winners were selected based on their creativity and awareness of the importance of using water wisely every day and in times of drought.
The Otay Water District’s educational program invites K-12 grade students in its service area each year to enter the contest by illustrating the theme “Water is Life.” Entrants are encouraged to reflect on the importance of water conservation and stewardship and learn about this in the classroom prior to creating their posters.
“We are proud to see a young generation of students share their awareness about water conservation and stewardship when it matters most,” said contest coordinator Eileen Salmeron. “As California faces a drought, we hope students and their families understand that making small changes at home or school to conserve can make a big difference in building resiliency against drought.”
First- and second-place winners were selected from elementary and middle school categories. One winner was chosen in the high school category. The District’s board of directors recognized the winners at its September 7 meeting. Winners received prizes including a gift card, a certificate of recognition, an art kit, and a goody bag.
First place, high school: Michael Armenion, eleventh grade, Otay Ranch High School. Photo: Otay Water District
First place, middle school: Khilee Haull, seventh grade, Hillsdale Middle School. Photo: Otay Water District
Second place, middle school: Fatima Altai, seventh grade, Hillsdale Middle School. Photo: Otay Water District
First place, elementary school: Angie Zhong, sixth grade, Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. Photo: Otay Water District
Second place, elementary school: Christian-Kealoha Rogacion, fifth grade, Thurgood Marshall Elementary School. Photo: Otay Water District
The Otay Poster Contest winners compete for regional awards in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s annual student poster contest. Thirty-six posters are chosen from participating Southern California water agencies for inclusion in the 2023 MWD Water is Life calendar. This year, MWD selected Khilee Haull and Christian-Kealoha Rogacion to represent Otay Water District in MWD’s 2023 calendar.
(Editor’s note: The Otay Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
Using water efficiently is a way of life and an important responsibility in a beautiful, Mediterranean climate like San Diego County. WaterSmart landscaping is all about rethinking the way limited water resources are applied and making smart choices to reduce outdoor water use.
Using water efficiently is a way of life and an important responsibility in a beautiful, Mediterranean climate like San Diego County. WaterSmart landscaping is all about rethinking the way limited water resources are applied and making smart choices to reduce outdoor water use.
Saving water isn’t the only reason for a WaterSmart garden. WaterSmart landscapes are attractive and in balance with our environment and climate. They incorporate elements of sustainable landscaping such as healthy, living soils, climate-appropriate plants, high-efficiency irrigation and rainwater harvesting, and generate many environmental and community benefits.
Working within the WaterSmart Matrix, you have lots of flexibility when selecting the combination of plants and irrigation to meet your water efficiency goals. Whether you want to create space for entertaining, limit landscape maintenance, or maintain some turf for children and pets, you can reach your water-saving goals and create an outdoor space to live in without resorting to gravel, concrete, or artificial turf.
These three models can help you get started. You can swap plants within the same usage categories, as long as the percentage mix of low, moderate, and high water use plants remain the same.
The Bucks’ winning landscape design includes beautiful outdoor living areas. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District
Low water-use plants: 45%.
Moderate water-use plants: 45%
High water-use plants: 10%
In this style, small areas of turf in the high water use category are balanced by beautiful trees, flowering shrubs, and groundcover choices which thrive in our San Diego-style Mediterranean climate. This is a landscape perfect for outdoor entertaining.
This homeowner took advantage of turf rebates to transform the front yard with climate-appropriate plants. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority.
Low water-use plants: 90%.
High water-use plants: 10%
For even greater water savings, shrubs that thrive in our San Diego-style Mediterranean climate take center stage along with smart choices of drought-tolerant trees and minimal turf for a lush landscape look full of texture and color.
The Everetts’ winning landscape provides a native habitat and saves water. Photo: City of Escondido
Very low water-use plants: 50%.
Low water-use plants: 50%
California native plants and succulents thrive in our environments. They have adapted over thousands of years to survive on limited natural rainfall. Using natives to create natural habitat is the ultimate accomplishment in WaterSmart landscaping design.
Refer to the plant lists in A Homeowner’s Guide to a WaterSmart Landscape, or ask a local nursery professional for help choosing your landscape plants from the appropriate categories.
WaterSmart landscapes are an upgrade, not a compromise. Creating a yard that loves San Diego as much as you do also creates a sustainable habitat that also preserves our native environment. It can save you maintenance time and costs and conserves our most valuable community resource: water.
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(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.)
Water use in the Coachella Valley continued to tick downwards in July, but conservation is still falling short of the state’s goal of a 15% reduction compared to 2020, according to data released by the State Water Resources Control Board this week.
But the July water use numbers do continue a trend of reduced water use that began in June, a marked shift from May and other previous months in which local water districts actually increased — rather than decreased — water use compared to 2020 baseline numbers.
Californians stepped up their water conservation in July, using 10.4% less than two years ago as the state struggles with a years-long drought, state water officials said Wednesday.
July marks the first full month that new conservation rules like a ban on watering decorative grass were in effect, which state water officials said helped make a difference. Water use started to trend down in June after a bump in April and May.
