View
PWP video shorts on a number of water conservation topics:
turf removal before & after, drip irrigation, leak
detection, programming your irrigation controller,
understanding your bill, & more.
Register for free workshops
from PWP and its partners. Topics include turf removal,
rainwater harvesting, native plants & more.
NEW THIS SPRING: "RAIN GARDEN" WORKSHOP AND "ORGANIC
GARDENING" WORKSHOPS
Get
inspired and plan your own Pasadena-friendly garden with
"Pasadena's Water-Smart Landscaping Guide,” custom-made
just for Pasadena. Find
photos of hundreds of water-saving
plants, get watering and plant-care tips, take virtual
garden tours, and save favorites to help you create your
dream water-smart landscape.
Discover age-appropriate
water education materials and curricula for Kindergarten through
College and teachers, presented by the Metropolitan Water
District of Southern California and regional partners.
Other
Recommended Resources
to Help You Understand Water and Save
All About Your
Water From PWP ~ water quality, planning
documents, city ordinances, rates, service requirements,
meters, etc.
Arlington
Garden ~ a water-smart demonstration garden
sponsored in part by PWP and Pasadena Public Waters
Turn
off the faucet when brushing teeth or shaving
Wash
only full loads of laundry and dishes
Install
water-efficient fixtures and appliances -
get rebates!
Don't
overwater lawns - one to three times a week is enough
Promptly
repair broken sprinklers, faucet and toilet leaks
Use
a broom - not a hose - to clean driveways and pavement
Talk
to friends and neighbors and ask them to help save water
Get Water Smart!
If
everyone in Southern California cuts outdoor watering by
JUST ONE DAY
A WEEK, we could save as much as
73 BILLION GALLONS
a year -- the same amount of water that Anaheim,
Burbank, Long Beach and Pasadena use in a year.
PWP,
like most utilities, bills in units of one hundred cubic feet (HCF).
One HCF equals 748 gallons. How many gallons do you use per month
People
in Pasadena use more water on lawn and landscaping irrigation than
for for any other purpose. Most people overwater their lawns by 50-70%.
Pasadena
gets 65% of its water from Northern California and Colorado River
imports.
According
to a 2005 report from the California Department of Water Resources, 19%
of all energy consumed in the state is related to the pumping and
sanitation of water.
Things we can do to adapt outside water use to the natural cyclical dry
conditions as well as save money:
Water only enough to keep plants and lawns healthy -- overwatering makes
root systems weak and vulnerable to disease. That usually means up to
3 days per week in the warm season, and about 1 day per week in the cool
season.
In
accordance with the city's water
waste prohibitions, watering is permitted only before 9.am. and
after 6 p.m to avoid evaporation and spraying from wind. (Watering by hand/hose,
drip irrigation or "smart" controller is exempt from this prohibition.)
To
avoid over-watering, check the weather reports, and give your sprinklers
a break a few days before and after it rains. (Watering during rain is
also prohibited by city ordinance.)
Consider native and
drought-tolerant plants and grasses when making landscape choices and
adjust your watering to take advantage of the
less-thirsty plants.
Visit
www.bewaterwise.com
and use the customized watering calculator and watering index to
determine how much water your yard needs. Most people over water
by as much as 50%.
Don't overwater in cooler months. Turf species like Marathon, St.
Augustine and Bermuda are designed to go dormant and usually require
watering only once per week or less during winter.
Step on your grass. If
it springs back when you lift your foot, it doesn't need water. Reduce
the number of days your automatic sprinklers run during the cooler
months between October and April. Be sure to turn your automatic
sprinklers off on rainy days.
Water your lawn during
the cool times of the day before 8:00 a.m. and preferably on less windy
days. Early morning is better than dusk.As much as 30 percent of water can be lost to evaporation by
watering the lawn during midday.
Less watering means less prolific growth, therefore less mowing and
fertilizer is needed.
Set lawn mower blades
one notch higher. Longer grass means less evaporation
Adjust your automatic
sprinklers so that water lands only on your lawn or garden where it
belongs and not on the sidewalk or street.
If you have an
evaporative air conditioner, direct the water drain line to a flowerbed,
tree base or lawn.
Put a layer of mulch
around trees and plants. Chunks of bark, peat moss or gravel slow
evaporation.
Consider reusing some
household water to irrigate your landscaping by using a gray water
system or by using a bucket.
PERMANENT WATER
WASTE PROHIBITIONS: TURN OFF YOUR SPRINKLERS WHEN
IT RAINS AND EVERY DAY BETWEEN 9AM AND 6PM. FIX ERRANT SPRINKLERS AND LEAKS WITHIN 7
DAYS.Read more about the city's
ordinance against water waste.
Consider installing a
weather based "smart" irrigation controller, and get
a $150 rebate.
Replace old
sprinkler heads with efficient rotator nozzles that distribute water at
the proper rate and ensure greater uniformity.
Get a $5 rebate on each.
Get your irrigation
system tuned up for efficiency. When was the last time you actually
watched all the sprinklers in action? Are you sure there aren't any
geysers coming out of your front yard?
Adjust the timer on automatic sprinklers
according to seasonal water demands and weather conditions. Install a
rain shut-off device on automatic sprinklers so you're not watering when
the ground is already wet.
Check sprinkler system valves
periodically for leaks. Keep the heads in good repair.
Avoid sprinklers that spray a fine mist,
which increases evaporation.
Make sure your sprinkler is placed so it
only waters the lawn, not the pavement.
Install efficient rotating sprinkler
nozzles and get a rebate from PWP.
Install a drip irrigation system for
watering gardens, trees and shrubs. Drip irrigation provides a slow,
steady trickle of water to plants at their roots through a network of
pipes and hoses. The systems are regulated by a controller that can be
adjusted for different levels of watering according to the needs of the
plants. Drip irrigation systems reduce over-watering, inefficient
watering, weed growth, and the time and labor involved in hand watering.
Consider installing a pool cover to save
energy and money. As much as 70 percent of a pool's heat loss is caused
by evaporation.
It also will keep your pool or spa cleaner and reduce the need to add
chemicals.
You can save substantially by reducing
your pool's water temperature and the number of months you heat your
pool.
Keep your pool's cleaning and heating
equipment clean and lubricated to make it as efficient as possible.
Switch your pool filter and sweeper
operations to off-peak hours - hours other than hot summer afternoons,
when electricity use is high and prices increase. If you have a
time-of-use meter, this can save you money. Off-peak hours are between 6
p.m. and noon weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday.
Shorten the operating time for your
swimming pool filter and- if your pool has one - your automatic cleaning
sweep. In the winter, two hours a day of filtering could cut your
filter's energy use by 40 percent to 50 percent, yet keep your pool
clean.
If you wash your car
at home, don't leave the hose running - use a nozzle with an automatic
shut off and save 10 gallons per minute.
Use a broom on
driveways, sidewalks and patios instead of washing them down with a hose
- save as much as 150 gallons per use.
Take shorter showers -
cut your shower time by 2 minutes and save 5 gallons every time you
shower
A typical bathroom
faucet uses 6 gallons per minute. Turn off your faucet while
brushing your teeth or shaving.
Fix faucet leaks- a
steady dripping leak wastes 15-20 gallons per minute.
Check your water meter
to see if there are any leaks. If it's spinning and there's no water
being used, there is probably an undetected leak somewhere.
While waiting for the
shower to warm up, catch the cold water in a container to use on outside
plants.
When washing dishes by
hand - if you have two sinks fill one with rinse water, if
you only have one sink, use a spray device or short blasts instead of
letting the water run.
Use the garbage
disposal less and garbage can more.
Don't use your toilets
as a wastepaper basket.
Run only full loads in
the washing machine and dishwasher. If you only have a few dishes, it's
better to wash them in the sink.
Replace your older
toilet with a High Efficiency Toilet (HET) that flushes 1.28 gpf or
less. PWP offers rebates for qualifying HETs.
Click here for more details.
Select a
high-efficiency clothes washer when replacing your old machine, PWP
offers rebates for qualifying models.
Click here for more details.
Check to see if your
toilets are leaking. Put some food coloring in the tank and see if it
enters the bowl without flushing. If it does, try replacing the flapper.
Install a new
water-efficient showerhead. It saves water and energy costs to heat the
water.
If your automatic
water softener recharges using a time clock, be sure it isn’t recharging
too frequently and remember to turn it off when you go away for a few
days.
Periodically check your toilets operation to catch
problems with valve adjustment or worn equipment. A helpful
six (6) page text and graphically illustrated manual is available in
the Adobe PDF format . If your browser is not equipped to
view PDF files,
Get Acrobat Now to download a free copy.
When eating at a restaurant, let
your server that if you want water, you'll ask for it. (Pasadena's anti
water-waste ordinance prohibits serving water unless the customer
specifically requests it.)
When taking your car
to a car wash, be sure it's one that recycles its wash water.
When staying at a hotel or motel, indicate
to
housekeeping that you
prefer to keep your linens and towels for multiple nights, and that when
you do need laundry service, you will call housekeeping.
Take a look at how
water is used at your workplace and consider suggesting some of these
same ideas to management.
