Helix Water District received an Orchid Award for Landscape Architecture from the San Diego Architectural Foundation at its 2023 annual Orchids and Onions architecture and design awards gala on October 5. The Orchid Award went to the district for its WaterSmart Demonstration Garden.
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) dedicated and named a new water conservation and operational reservoir for Lloyd Allen.
The Lloyd Allen Water Conservation Operational Reservoir is located east of Calipatria and will conserve 400 acre-feet of water annually and provide water operational flexibility to local growers.
Helix Water District received an Orchid Award for Landscape Architecture from the San Diego Architectural Foundation at its 2023 annual Orchids and Onions architecture and design awards gala on October 5. The Orchid Award went to the district for its WaterSmart Demonstration Garden. The Demonstration Garden is located at the Helix administration office in La Mesa.
“We are honored to be recognized for our WaterSmart Demonstration Garden,” said Helix Water District Board President Kathleen Coates Hedberg. “This award is a testament to the fact that you can create thriving, sustainable gardens here in East San Diego County that are both beautiful and water efficient.”
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
The District installed its WaterSmart Demonstration Garden to beautify the neighborhood and inspire others to install water-efficient landscapes. Outdoor water use typically accounts for half of a home’s water use. Through planning and a vision for the community, the district was able to transform its tired and overgrown landscape into the thriving, lush, and colorful gardens there today.
McCullough Landscape Architecture designed the garden to showcase three styles of landscapes that are adapted to the local climate and need half to a fifth of the water that a traditional lawn needs. The Mediterranean, desert, and California-native gardens include plant markers with QR codes. Scan the code with your smartphone to see each plant’s name, sun and water needs, and mature size.
All plants chosen for the Helix Water District Demonstration Garden had to be accessible to the public at local nurseries. Photo: Helix Water District
“Our demonstration landscape shows customers that water-efficient landscaping is not just one style,” said Helix Water District Director Mark Gracyk. “You can choose plants that compliment your home and personal taste – there is an option for everyone.”
A key requirement for the design of the gardens was that all of the plants selected had to be accessible to the public at local nurseries. The plants are grouped in hydrozones based on the amount of water they need and a drip irrigation system provides automatic watering based on daily weather conditions.
The garden is open to the public for self-tours and easily accessible from the sidewalk at 7811 University Avenue in La Mesa.
McCullough Landscape Architecture designed the garden to showcase three styles of landscapes that are adapted to the local climate and need half to a fifth of the water that a traditional lawn needs. Photo: Helix Water District
Drawing on input from both the public and professionals, the San Diego Architectural Foundation recognizes both the best and the worst of San Diego’s built environment. The architecture projects recognized as Orchids and Onions each year are nominated by the public, then reviewed and selected for awards by architecture and design professionals.
Orchid award winners must exemplify good placemaking, add to the surrounding community’s character, be skillfully and thoughtfully crafted, environmentally innovative, and elicit a sense of civic pride.
The San Diego Architectural Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and promotion of outstanding architecture, planning, and urban design throughout the San Diego region.
(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region. For residential, business and agricultural rebates, incentives and programs, go to: www.sdcwa.org/your-water/conservation/.)
The U.S. EPA recognized the San Diego County Water Authority with a 2023 WaterSense Excellence Award for advancing water efficiency through its Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program, better known as QWEL. The Water Authority received one of 25 Excellence Awards on October 5 at the national WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.
This is the fourth EPA WaterSense award won by the Water Authority. The 2023 award is for Excellence in Promotion and Outreach of the QWEL program.
October 9, 2023 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the San Diego County Water Authority with a 2023 WaterSense Excellence Award for advancing water efficiency through its Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program, better known as QWEL. The Water Authority received one of 25 Excellence Awards on Oct. 5 at the national WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.
The U.S. EPA recognized the San Diego County Water Authority with a 2023 WaterSense Excellence Award for advancing water efficiency through its Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program, better known as QWEL. The Water Authority received one of 25 Excellence Awards on October 5 at the national WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.
This is the fourth EPA WaterSense award won by the Water Authority. The 2023 award is for Excellence in Promotion and Outreach of the QWEL program. Since the early 1990s, the Water Authority has offered an array of programs and incentives to promote water-use efficiency, and the suite of offerings continues to evolve as needs and conditions change.
“Over the past three decades, the Water Authority has been dedicated to helping the San Diego region save water every day, in every way,” said Mel Katz, chair of the Water Authority Board of Directors. “Water-efficient landscaper trainings in English and Spanish are among the most impactful strategies to help our community thrive in a changing climate. We thank EPA WaterSense for its partnership and guidance as we advance water-saving practices that sustain San Diego County’s beautiful landscapes.”
Flo, the EPA WaterSense “spokesgallon” poses with the award received by the San Diego County Water Authority
The Water Authority has offered the QWEL certification program free of charge to people who live and work in the Water Authority’s service area since 2015. In 2022, almost 300 new participants were certified through the program and half of the QWEL-certified individuals attended webinars to renew their certifications. After conducting more than 25 in-person and online exams, there4 were nearly 460 certified participants for the year.
To reach San Diego’s Spanish-speaking residents, the Water Authority recruited and trained bilingual instructors and offered virtual training in Spanish, attended by more than 40 new participants.
San Diego County Water Authority Principal Water Resource Specialist Lisa Prus (L) Water Resources Specialist Debby Dunn (center) and Wenda Alvarez, with WSA Marketing, accepting the 2023 EPA WaterSense Excellence Award October 5, in Las Vegas.
In 2023, the Water Authority transitioned from QWEL to a new program to achieve similar goals, in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Through the California Landscape Contractors Association, MWD offers one-of-a-kind certification and education opportunities for landscape professionals in Southern California. The program combines the CLCA Water Management Certification Program with the Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program to offer the landscape industry an opportunity to obtain two nationally recognized EPA WaterSense Professional Certifications with one course and one written test. New courses will be offered in the San Diego region starting December 2023.
The EPA also recognized two Water Authority member agencies for for their support of WaterSense and water efficiency in 2022, including the San Dieguito Water District and the Vallecitos Water District. Collectively, the Excellence Award winners contributed to annual savings nationwide of 1.1 trillion gallons of water.
WaterSense, a voluntary partnership program sponsored by EPA, is both a label for water-efficient products, programs, and homes and a resource for helping consumers learn ways to save water. More than 2,100 manufacturers, builders, retailers, utilities, government, and nonprofit organizations partner with WaterSense to promote water-efficient products, homes, and programs.
“With extreme weather affecting water supplies and quality, saving this precious resource is more important than ever,” said Veronica Blette, Chief, WaterSense Branch. “The 2023 award winners helped Americans look to WaterSense and save not just water, but the energy required to heat and treat it, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy use.”
Since 2006, over 40,000 certified water-efficient plumbing and irrigation products have helped consumers and businesses nationwide save 7.5 trillion gallons of water; the amount of energy needed to pump, treat, and heat water by 880 billion kilowatt hours; and $171 billion in water and energy bills. These savings also helped prevent 337 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to planting 5.6 billion trees.
(Editor’s note: For more information about WaterSense, visit www.epa.gov/watersense. For rebates, classes, and water-saving tips go to: sdcwa.org/your-water/conservation/.)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored the Vallecitos Water District with a WaterSense Partner of the Year Award for its video series promoting WaterSense and water efficiency in 2022. Vallecitos was one of nine Partner of the Year Award winners across the U.S.
WaterSense is a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the EPA. It identifies and labels water-efficient products, programs, and homes to help consumers learn ways to save water. More than 2,100 manufacturers, builders, retailers, utilities, government, and nonprofit organizations partner with WaterSense to promote water-efficient products, homes, and programs.
Vallecitos produced twelve videos released monthly in 2022, based on the EPA’s monthly feature topics. Each video focused on educating consumers about creating a WaterSense home. Among the topics covered by the 12 videos in the series are bathroom water consumption, efficient energy use, and one of the favorites, the “Shower With Power” video released in September 2022.
The video series produced by the Vallecitos Water District public affairs team was distributed by the U.S. EPA WaterSense program to help educate the public about water conservation nationwide. The videos can be downloaded for free on the EPA WaterSense partner platform.
Vallecitos began using video in 2019 to document the district’s workforce and infrastructure improvements on its social media platforms and has also engaged the public with discussions of critically important water management issues. It has won multiple awards for its work.
“We rely on video as a powerful communication tool at the Vallecitos Water District,” said Chris Robbins, Vallecitos Water District Public Information/Conservation Supervisor. “It’s how people like to consume information today,” “We invest a great deal of effort to make sure each video is an effective resource. This award from the EPA affirms we’re taking the right approach.”
The city of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 5, received more than $19 million in state grant money for climate resilience projects, including the Department of Water and Power’s turf replacement program that will pay for free yard transformations in underserved communities.
The video series produced by the Vallecitos Water District public affairs team was distributed by the U.S. EPA WaterSense program to help educate the public about water conservation nationwide. The videos can be downloaded for free on the EPA WaterSense partner platform.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored the Vallecitos Water District with a WaterSense Partner of the Year Award for its video series promoting WaterSense and water efficiency in 2022. Vallecitos was one of nine Partner of the Year Award winners across the U.S. Awards were presented at the American Water Works Association Water Smart Innovations event in Las Vegas on October 5.
The Vallecitos Water District was one of nine Partner of the Year Award winners across the U.S. Awards were presented at the American Water Works Association Water Smart Innovations event in Las Vegas on October 5. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
WaterSense is a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the EPA. It identifies and labels water-efficient products, programs, and homes to help consumers learn ways to save water. More than 2,100 manufacturers, builders, retailers, utilities, government, and nonprofit organizations partner with WaterSense to promote water-efficient products, homes, and programs.
Vallecitos produced twelve videos released monthly in 2022, based on the EPA’s monthly feature topics. Each video focused on educating consumers about creating a WaterSense home. Among the topics covered by the 12 videos in the series are bathroom water consumption, efficient energy use, and one of the favorites, the “Shower With Power” video released in September 2022.
The video series produced by the Vallecitos Water District public affairs team was distributed by the U.S. EPA WaterSense program to help educate the public about water conservation nationwide. The videos can be downloaded for free on the EPA WaterSense partner platform.
The Vallecitos Water District has embraced video as an important communication tool with its customers. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
Vallecitos began using video in 2019 to document the district’s workforce and infrastructure improvements on its social media platforms and has also engaged the public with discussions of critically important water management issues. It has won multiple awards for its work.
“We rely on video as a powerful communication tool at the Vallecitos Water District,” said Chris Robbins, Vallecitos Water District Public Information/Conservation Supervisor. “It’s how people like to consume information today,” “We invest a great deal of effort to make sure each video is an effective resource. This award from the EPA affirms we’re taking the right approach.”
Vallecitos Public Information Representative Alicia Yerman collaborated with Beth Livingston and Veronica Blette of the EPA on the productions including scripting, storyboards, and visual elements. Vallecitos also offers live video of its board meetings and other public discussions on its YouTube channel.
The EPA also recognized 25 Excellence Award winners for their support of WaterSense and water efficiency in 2022, including the San Dieguito Water District and the San Diego County Water Authority. Collectively, the Excellence Award winners contributed to annual savings nationwide of 1.1 trillion gallons of water.
WaterSense and its more than 2,000 utility, manufacturer, retail, builder, and other organizational partners make it possible for consumers and businesses to save water, energy, and money by producing and promoting water-efficient products, homes, and programs. Since 2006, WaterSense partners have helped save 7.5 trillion gallons of water and $171 billion on consumer utility bills.
Each video focused on educating consumers about creating a WaterSense home. “Shower With Power” is one of the favorites, released in September 2022. Photo: Vallecitos Water District
WaterSense is a program sponsored by the EPA, designed to encourage water efficiency in the U.S. through the use of a special label on consumer products. The goal of the program is to protect the future of the nation’s water supply by encouraging a nationwide ethic of water efficiency to conserve water resources for future generations and reduce infrastructure costs.
The WaterSense label makes it simple to find water-efficient products, new homes, and programs meeting the EPA’s criteria for efficiency and performance. WaterSense-labeled products and services are certified to use at least 20% less water, save energy, and perform as well as or better than regular models.
(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District and the San Dieguito Water District are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
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