Tag Archive for: Water Conservation

Free webinar-large landscapes-QWEL-drought

Water-Use Efficiency for Large Landscapes Focus of Free Webinar

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In the third year of drought, water agencies are providing opportunities, including rebates and resources, to increase water-use efficiency. A free webinar August 31 is geared for people who manage or own properties with large landscape areas.

Managers of homeowner associations, rental housing, commercial, industrial and public properties are invited to the webinar on the State of California’s evolving drought response, status of the Colorado River Basin, regional impacts and landscape restrictions.

The San Diego County Water Authority leads a panel that includes arboriculture, irrigation, design and horticulture experts focused on information and resources applicable to large landscape decision makers. Topics include:

  • Local resources for property-specific drought information.
  • Tree watering options and turf zone exemptions.
  • Monitoring and measuring, plant choices and water budgets.
  • Landscape maintenance priorities.

Low-cost landscape maintenance strategies

The webinar is scheduled from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Along with clarifying current drought restrictions and options, participants will also hear about access to education and training programs, funding resources and low-cost landscape maintenance strategies that can help achieve significant water savings.

Registration and additional information about the “Demystifying Drought” webinar: https://qwel.watersmartsd.org/class-schedule/

Drought-Large Landscapes-webinar

Program partners include San Diego chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) and the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA). The professional educational opportunity is a continuing education feature of the Water Authority’s Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) professional certification training program.

Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper

From soils to water budgets, audits and controller programming, San Diego professionals have increased their knowledge of the science and principles of water-efficient landscapes in the Water Authority-sponsored QWEL training program. The professional certificate training is highly rated by industry pros and recognized with the WaterSense® label. In the San Diego region, the interactive and engaging live webinar classes are taught by leading industry educators. The fall and winter schedule includes certification and continuing education opportunities offered during the day and evening in English and Spanish.

Opinion: Why City Officials are Calling on San Diegans to Cut Back on Water Usage This Summer

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Juan Guerreiro

On June 10, the city of San Diego implemented more stringent restrictions for all water customers, following a statewide order to conserve throughout California. We are calling on San Diegans to cut back their usage, not just because it’s the prudent thing to, but also to avoid more drastic measures that could come in the near future if we don’t take these new restrictions to heart.

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World Water Week is an annual event focusing on water issues hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute. It focuses on exploring new ways of managing water and addressing challenges facing agriculture, technology, biodiversity, and climate change. Graphic: Stockholm International Water Institute World Water Week 2022

World Water Week 2022: Partnership Video Illustrates Value of Groundwater

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A new video illustrating the role and the value of groundwater has been released by the Vallecitos Water District.

“The Value of Water: Groundwater” was produced for World Water Week 2022 through a collaboration with the Vallecitos Water District, the California Department of Water Resources, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense.

World Water Week is from August 23 through September 1. World Water Week is an annual event focusing on water issues hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute. It focuses on exploring new ways of managing water and addressing challenges facing agriculture, technology, biodiversity, and climate change. This year’s theme is “seeing the unseen, and the value of water.”

Vallecitos Public Information Representative Alicia Yerman, who produced the video, said the goal was to depict the 2022 World Water Week theme. DWR provided photography, and both DWR and EPA WaterSense experts advised on the video and reviewed it for accuracy.

Groundwater is a vital resource

“California’s groundwater basins are a critical part of the state’s water supply, especially during a severe drought like the one we’re currently experiencing,” said Paul Gosselin, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Groundwater Management office at the California DWR. “However, since groundwater is out of sight, it tends to be out of mind for most people. We appreciate Vallecitos Water District’s efforts to educate the public about this vital resource during World Water Week.”

Use water wisely

“It’s so important for people to understand where their water comes from because it helps motivate them to value and use it wisely,” said Veronica Blette, EPA WaterSense program manager.  “This new Vallecitos Water District video highlighting the hidden treasure of groundwater and other videos they have produced do a great job of showing why water is important and how people can preserve and protect it.”

 World Water Week 2022 video   

Groundwater helps sustain California’s ecosystems, supports agriculture, fuels the economy, and reduces the impacts of drought and changing climate. Groundwater accounts for 40% of the state’s total annual water supply in normal years and almost 60% in drought years. DWR developed California’s Groundwater Live featuring the latest groundwater information, live statistics, and a series of interactive dashboards accessed through its website.

In 2019, VWD began using video to document the district’s workforce and infrastructure improvements on its social media platforms. The water district has also engaged the public with discussions of critically important water management issues. It has won multiple awards for its work. The Vallecitos Water District also offers live video of its board meetings and other public discussions on its YouTube channel.

(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.)

Here’s How to Choose a Professional to Help Create a Water-Saving Landscape

/in , , /by /Times of San Diego by Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

If you choose to design, implement and maintain a new water-saving landscape yourself, you can follow the Homeowner’s Guide to a WaterSmart Landscape to help you plan, prepare, and work through each step. Free classes and online videos can help.

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California Drought: Why More Than 530,000 Acres of Farmlands Are Now Left Barren

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Yoohyun Jung

The years-long drought and dwindling water supply are estimated to have left more than 531,000 acres of California farmlands unplanted without harvest this year — a 36% increase since August of last year.

The new estimates on acres farmed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reflect the struggles of some California farmers to procure water to irrigate their crops as major government water projects supplying their water remain thirsty as drought continues for a third year.

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Citing Nevada’s Example, Cortez Masto Calls on Feds to Make Other States Conserve Water

/in , , /by /Nevada Currentby Jennifer Solis

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto joined state water officials Monday to demand immediate federal action on the Colorado River water crisis as Nevada faces its second year of mandatory water cuts.

Last week, federal officials announced that Nevada would lose about 8% of its water allocation, or 25,000 acre-feet of water, starting January 2023 as a stopgap solution to stabilize water levels at Lake Mead.

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Opinion: We All Need to be More Proactive in Conserving What Water We Have

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Brunker

“The shadows sway and seem to say/ ‘Tonight we pray for water, cool water’/ And way up there He’ll hear our prayer/ And show us where there’s water, cool, clear, water.” Sons of the Pioneers, singing Bob Nolan’s “Cool Water” in 1941.

Eighty-one years later, the “show us where there’s water” prayer remains.

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Make Landscape Trees a Priority During Drought

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

As the unprecedented drought continues to affect California and the San Diego region, homeowners can still balance the need to conserve water as efficiently as possible while preserving valuable landscaping, including trees. Trees can be maintained while following California’s water guidelines.

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Southern California Has a Plan to Ease the Colorado River Crisis. And it Starts Right Under Your Feet

/in , , /by /LAistby Erin Stone

The Colorado River is the backbone of the West’s water supply. The river provides water to hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and 40 million people in seven U.S. states (California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada) and northern Mexico. But overuse, a 23-year “megadrought” and aridification fueled by the climate crisis has left the river stretched far too thin.

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No Firm New Deadline for Colorado River Basin States’ Conservation Plans

/in , , /by /KUNCby Luke Runyon

Federal officials aren’t ready to give states along the Colorado River a new deadline for water conservation goals.

The seven states that rely on the river blew past an August 16 deadline without a plan to conserve 2 to 4 million acre-feet of water. They were given that task by officials with the Bureau of Reclamation and from within the Interior Department. The agency’s models show that amount is what is necessary to keep the river’s biggest reservoirs — lakes Mead and Powell — from reaching critical levels.

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