Published: May 22, 2014 | 09:00 AM

Drought? You Can Help!

Did you know that 60 percent of a home’s total water is used outdoors? Become a drought buster – join your fellow Californians in reducing your water use. Look outdoors to save the most water.

Check your sprinklers. Watering your landscape efficiently is the biggest way to reduce your water usage. It is important to check your sprinklers for leaks and overspray – your sidewalks don’t need to be watered.

Have you considered switching to rotating sprinkler nozzles? Rotating nozzles use 20 percent less water than standard sprinkler heads. IRWD currently offers a rebate for $4 per nozzle. Check out the IRWD Calscape page for more information.

Use our Watering Schedule. Take the schedule from the IRWD billing insert, Pipelines, and place it near your timer, or give it to your gardener.

Using this IRWD suggested watering schedule will help properly irrigate your yard using the least amount of water necessary.

Start with this schedule and increase the times only if your plants start dying. If this occurs only in isolated areas, check the operation of your irrigation system before increasing the time. 

Install a Smart Timer. Be the most efficient person in your neighborhood: install a smart timer, or weather-based irrigation controller (WBIC).

Most homes use a sprinkler timer, which leaves lots of room for human error because it needs to be programmed manually. Using a smart timer maximizes efficiency and saves water.

A smart timer is a weather-based irrigation controller that determines how much to water your landscape based on actual site specific weather conditions, such as temperature and humidity. Use the coupon from your May Pipelines to receive a $500 rebate for a timer - $380 per clock, plus an additional $120 for installation.

Check out our website for information on smart timer rebates.