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"Planting
Your Drought Tolerant Garden"
Planting
Your Drought Tolerant Garden booklet is available at no cost to all District
customers at the District Office. The booklet includes irrigation information,
preparing your soil and a plant list.
Drought
Tolerant Garden At District Office
The drought tolerant
garden consists of a variety of plants. Next to each type of plant is
a name plaque, which displays the common name and botanical name.
The drought tolerant
garden was designed by Highlands Nursery. Highlands Nursery is
located at 3445 Old Hwy. 53, Clearlake,
994-2356.
Pick up your free
"Planting Your Drought Tolerant Gardent" booklet at the
District Office.
Rebate Program:
ULFT/HET
The District launched
their Ultra Low Flow Toilet (ULFT)/High Efficiency Toilet (HET) Rebate Program
on November 1, 2003. All homes built prior to 1992, and have 3.5-7 gallon
toilets
qualify for the rebate program. The District is offering a $50 rebate for
each toilet that is
replaced with a ULFT or HET.
FRONT
LOAD WASHING MACHINES
Any High Efficiency Washing machines (HEW) that were purchased
after June 1, 2004 are eligible for a $150 rebate.
Please provide a copy
of your receipt and arrange for an appointment for proof of installation
by calling the District Office at (707) 987-9201. You may also contact Tami
Ipsen for further information regarding the District's water conservation
and rebate programs.
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Residential
Water Conservation and Maintenance Tips
Residential Water
Conservation and Maintenance Tips The Hidden Valley Lake Community Services
District (District) has developed a water conservation and maintenance
tip guide for our consumers. The District thanks you for participating
in this "Water Conservation Program" by using this water conservation
and maintenance tip guide. Through the year the District will be able
to compare your water usage to last years' usage, which will reflect on
your water and/or sewer bill. Your water savings will vary depending on
weather, irrigation system expansion, and leaks.
The Hidden Valley
Lake Community Services District (District) provides water conservation
kits free of charge for any house built in the Hidden Valley
Lake subdivision before 1992.
If you are interested in a water conservation kit, please contact Tami Ipsen
at the District Office (707) 987-9201.
The following are
several water conservation and maintenance tips.
INDOOR
WATER USES
According to the U.S.D.A., basic indoor water consumption per person
is 50-70 gallons per day. You can calculate what your average indoor water
consumption should be by taking the number of people in your household
x 50-70 gallons per day. Since outdoor watering is done during the summer
months, you might want to calculate and compare with winter water use.
If your basic indoor use is high, you should check for leaks or consider
replacing some of your plumbing fixtures with new low-flow devices.
BATHROOMS:
Consider installing low-flow aerators in your bathroom faucets. You
can save up to 3.5 gallons per minute of water.
A leaking faucet can
lose gallons of water every month due to the leak(s). (Calculate number
of drips in 30 seconds. # of drips x 400 = gallons/month wasted). Often
times it's just a matter of replacing a worn out washer, but other times
the problem could be more severe. If you are unsure about doing the repairs
yourself, call a reputable plumber.
Based on the year
your toilets were installed, they probably use 5-7/3.5/1.6
gallons per flush. (<1980 is 5-7, 1981-1991 is 3.5, 1992> is 1.6) Ultra-low-flush
toilets (ULFT's), which use only 1.6 gallons per flush, are available
at home improvement stores.
Toilet leaks can be
very costly. Repairs are usually simple to do, and require inexpensive
parts. Sometimes it's just a matter of replacing a worn out flapper.
If your house was
built in (<1980 is 5-7, 1981-1991 is 3.5, 1992> is 2.5) the standard flow
for showerheads then was 5-7/3.5/2.5 gallons per minute.
Today many high quality showerheads are available, which have a maximum
of flow of 2.5 gallons per minute. Replacing old showerheads with new
ones can save you as much as 750 gallons per month. (Example - 10-minute
shower at 5 gallons per minute is 50 gallons of water used per shower.
A 10-minute shower at 2.5 gallons per minute is 25 gallons of water used
per shower. 50 gallons x 30 days = 1500 gallons, 25 gallons x 30 days
=750 gallons, which is a 750 gallons of water per month savings).
KITCHEN:
Each dishwasher load uses 14-20 gallons of water, depending on the brand
and size. To save water, wash only full loads. Installing a low-flow aerator/sprayer
on your kitchen sink faucet will make washing/rinsing dishes easier and
save water.
LAUNDRY:
A standard/large/extra large capacity washer, which
uses 40/60/70 gallons per load. Next time you are in the
market for a washing machine, consider one of the new front-loading high
efficiency washing machines. They use only 21 gallons per load, and as
more models come on the market their prices will come down.
OUTDOOR WATER USES
LAWNS: Bermuda/bluegrass/ryegrass/fescue
needs 3/4.5/4.5/3.5 gallons of water per month
per square
foot to keep it looking good. You can calculate your water usage by using
this example. (Example - 3.5 gallons x 2,000 square feet of lawn = 7,000
gallons).
If your lawn is on
a flat area, you don't have to worry too much about runoff. Just make
sure the sprinklers are properly adjusted so they don't spray water on
walkways, driveways or other unplanted areas.
If your lawn is on
a slope you should consider using rotor/stream sprinklers because they
apply the water at a much slower rate than spray or impulse (Rainbird)
type sprinklers. This will prevent runoff because the soil has time to
absorb the water before it runs down the driveway or out into the field.
A slope that is greater than 10% may need your sprinklers to run in shifts
with an hour or so between shifts.
If your lawn is partly
in the shade you probably could reduce the water used on parts of it.
Most people water
their whole lawns to keep the driest spot green, but you don't need to
do this. Sprinklers can be custom fit to properly water grass in sun and/or
shade, narrow areas or wide areas, and southern or northern exposures.
See a landscape professional about designing an efficient sprinkler system.
On your own you can cut back a few minutes per watering session and see
how well your lawn does. If small dry spots develop here and there but
the rest of the lawn looks good, try hand watering the dry areas.
You can reduce your
lawn's water requirements by cutting it taller. Bermuda can be cut 1"
deep, Bluegrass and Ryegrass can be cut 2"-2.5" deep, and Fescue can be
cut 2.5"-3" deep.
If your lawn gets
a lot of traffic you probably will need to water and fertilize it more
to promote strong growth in worn areas. Also, you won't be able to grow
it quit as tall as you could without traffic.
If you have automatic
timers, which is good because you can set them to turn on early in the
morning when watering is most efficient because there is very little evaporation
and no wind. There are some disadvantages to automatic watering though.
Many people forget to reset the timers after the summer heat is over,
so they end up using as much water in September and October as they did
in July and August. Also, since the sprinklers are run unsupervised you
may find that one of them has malfunctioned and you suddenly have a huge
brown spot in your lawn, or worse, a huge water bill to pay. Sprinklers
should be checked periodically, especially if they are on automatic timers.
LANDSCAPING:
Most landscaped areas need less water than grass, so it makes sense to convert
lawn area to other types of groundcover or landscape, if possible. Without
knowing exactly what type of plants you have it is impossible to say how
much you could save by using drought tolerant plants, however, the savings
could be significant. At the District Office, look for our "Water Wise Garden",
which will shows a variety of drought tolerant plants that do well in the
Hidden Valley Lake area. The District Office also provides a drought tolerant
plant list.
Using wood mulch in
your landscaping can save a huge amount of water, but remember the wood
deteriorates over time and you will need to replenish it every few years.
GARDEN:
Depending on what kinds of plants you are growing, on the average
you will need to apply 2-5 gallons of water per square foot per month
to maintain a healthy garden. This means that what you pay for water is
probably more than the value of the fruits and vegetables you get out
of your garden. The only suggestion is to water deeply to encourage deep
root growth, which will reduce your water consumption in the long run.
A soaker hose is great idea for this. Of course, when starting plants
from seed you need to water lightly at least every day until the seeds
germinate.
Trees are expensive
to replace, so they should be watered when they show signs of stress,
however, many trees that are five years old or more can get by with monthly
watering in the summer and no irrigation for the rest of the year. Just
make sure that you water them deeply and don't let the water run down
gopher holes, away from where the tree roots are. Native trees should
require supplemental water only in severe drought years.
OTHER
OUTDOOR USES: When washing your car, use a pistol-grip nozzle, one
that shuts off when you let go of it. You will reduce your water use per
car wash from 200 gallons down to 20 gallons if you don't let the water
run.
A pool can use up
to 3000 gallons per month if it is left uncovered. Covering it when not
in use will reduce water use by 90%.
A spa can use up to
300 gallons per month if it is left uncovered. Covering it when it is
not in use will reduce water use by 90%.
Leaking hose bibs
can use as much water as any other leaking faucet, and often times you
don't even know they're leaking because they are not visible. You would
probably fix a leaking faucet in the kitchen before discovering a leaking
hose bib, which could leak for months. If you were to leave your hose
running full-force you will use 12,000 gallons of water per day!
WATER
BREAKS: Some of our customers have had very high water bills as a
result of broken irrigation lines. The breaks have sometimes occurred
in pipes that the customers didn't even know they had! We recommend that
you do several things to protect yourself against such a tragedy. First,
protect your entire system against high pressure by installing a pressure
regulator at the water meter. Most houses have a pressure regulator at
the house, but will protect only the pipes inside the house. It will not
protect your irrigation system. Second, walk your irrigation system periodically
to look for wet spots where there should be none. Third, ask the seller
for plans to the irrigation system when buying an existing house. Irrigation
systems have a way of growing and changing over the years, so you want
to be sure you know exactly what you have. Fourth, check your water meter
once in awhile. Shut off everything inside and outside the house and then
look at your water meter. If there is any movement you probably have a
water leak somewhere. Catching a small leak early can save you from paying
for a large leak later. And finally, when you add to your irrigation system,
get professional help and use the best materials. Test everything before
it is covered, make sure it is deep enough to be protected from freezing
and provide a way to drain the system completely in the winter.
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