The Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA), our local water agency, is encouraging Santa Clarita Valley residents and businesses to reduce their water consumption by 10% this summer through simple water-saving techniques. As a community leader the City will do its part to reduce water use through a variety of conservation activities.

The City is responsible for managing more than 35 individual zones in the Landscape Maintenance Districts and more than 700 acres of landscaped medians throughout the City. Santa Clarita is always seeking ways to use technology and other approaches to limit the amount of water we use. The information below highlights just a few of the existing and planned new ways that the City will works towards reducing its water usage.

July is Smart Irrigation Month!
Your irrigation system: Save water, save money and see better results

Automatic sprinklers offer convenience and control inprotecting your landscape investment. Irrigation systems help you to enjoy your yard, and to keep it healthy and beautiful. However, most homeowners tend to overwater their lawn or waste water through inefficient habits. Adopting water-savvy habits is essential to maintaining and extending your community's water supply, especially during peak use.

The key to efficient outdoor irrigation is applying just enough water and only when necessary. Water-wise habits will result in a healthier lawn and landscape, in addition to conserving water. Plus, reducing your consumption will help reduce your water bill.

The Irrigation Association named July Smart Irrigation Month to provide tips about smart practices and new technology. Continue reading to learn what you can do in July - and throughout the year - to operate your system at peak efficiency. Visit the Irrigation Association's website for more information.

Existing City Efforts:

• Installation of synthetic turf on Magic Mountain Median, projected to save more then 75,000 gallons of water each year
• Landscape design that incorporate drought tolerant plant materials
• Replacement of existing grass on City medians with shrubs that require far less water
• Relocating irrigation lines in the medians to reduce water overspray
• Drip irrigation and low water use plants for Landscape District enhancements along the Copperhill and Tupelo Ridge area
• Performance contracts with landscape maintenance vendors that require them to hire certified water auditors and holds them financially accountable for over-watering areas that they maintain.
• Incorporation of self-monitoring irrigation controllers and flow meters to detect problems and automatically shut off irrigation systems if a line should break.
• Limiting daytime use of irrigation systems at City parks to newly seeded or planted areas and instances when repairs or adjustments where required
• Retrofitting swimming pools with state-of-the-art heating and filtration systems to dramatically reduce water use and conserve energy.
• Application of fertilizer at City park sites in micro doses overnight through the irrigation system, thereby eliminating the need to excessively water our turf areas.
• The City employs best practice standards on the use of mulch to aggressively save water
• Use of mulching and landscaping to reduce the need for water
• During a typical July, the City’s green Transit Maintenance Facility uses 67% less water than a standard building. This is accomplished by planting extremely low water using plants and using efficient irrigation systems.
• The Transit Maintenance Facility indoor water use has been reduced by 41%, saving 132,000 gallons each year. The building uses dual flush toilets and water conserving shower heads, sinks, and appliances.
• The Transit Maintenance Facility is available for tours. Please contact the City for more information.
  

Ongoing or Planned City Efforts:

• Development of new landscape design standards resulted in the elimination of 90% of the proposed turf in favor of drought tolerant plants, and the installation low water drip irrigation systems at the open space area located at McBean and Decoro.
• Replacement of grass with water-saving, yet green shrubs on the Wiley Canyon Road Median (FY 08-09 Project)
• Planned project to re-use existing ground water currently pumped into the river for landscape irrigation in the Shangri-La Community
• Planned replacement of more then 20 old irrigation controllers with state of the art equipment during the coming year resulting in a 12% annual decrease in water usage.
• Installation of new irrigation controllers integrated with the City’s data network and able to access real-time weather information. Through the use of new technology the City’s irrigation controllers are managed in a way where the weather conditions will dictate the amount of water used from one day to the next.

The City is committed to supporting the community’s conservation goals as we all will do our part to reduce water usage this summer. You may use the eService system to contact the City regarding the water conservation campaign.