WATER CONSERVATION PLAN - Laserfiche WebLink

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Utilizing the District's Strategic Plan, historical usage, and Making Water Conservation a California way of Life recommendations (which provide the framework for outdoor irrigation standards utilizing evapotranspiration rates for the area, and irrigated and irrigable landscape areas), the District has set an annual water consumption target of 503 units of water per developed acre (1 unit of water equals 748 gallons). However, it must be noted that rainfall totals and patterns, and temperature deviations well outside historical norms and averages are expected to affect the units per acre necessary to keep turf and landscaping healthy. The District's water Conservation Plan expands on the practices and resource utilization described in the Strategic Plan that will be utilized to maintain and/or reduce its water consumption target. The Water Conservation Plan will assist the District in this effort and help the public interpret subsequent changes to parks, facilities, and open space. The District's Water Conservation Plan discusses multiple issues related to water conservation. With each issue, the water Conservation Plan will discuss the District's current practice regarding the issue, further District objectives regarding the issue, and challenges in accomplishing the objectives. I Use Water Efficiently at Awberency facilities Current Practice: • The District utilizes in-house maintenance reporting software and telephone reporting for irrigation and other plumbing problems; this allows the District to fix leaks and breaks in a timely matter in order to reduce water waste. • The District utilizes the iCentral Irrigation Control System at all parks with advanced irrigation principles in all new development. The District has approximately io,000 irrigation heads controlled by an internet weather -based "iCentral Control" System. These controllers monitor the weather in real time via the internet and adjust watering times and volumes accordingly. If it rains or the humidity is high enough, these controllers will simply shut the irrigation system off altogether. • The District performs annual field refurbishments and turf establishment periods, mostly at sports fields. The athletic fields are well -used, to the point that our fields annually require 6-8 weeks of down time for "field refurbishment". During field refurbishment, the fields are fenced and reseeded in an effort to restore the worn out turf. The reseeding requires daytime watering, especially during intensely hot weather, so that the newly germinated seedlings do not wither and die in the hot sun. Once the turf establishes a sufficient root structure, the daytime watering is curtailed and eventually eliminated. • In 2015, the District added an Irrigation Technician to its field staff. The Irrigation Technician's primary duty is to investigate and develop new methods and/or improvements to existing methods that result in effective management and conservation strategies of limited water resources. The Irrigation Technician is also tasked with educating and sharing these methods with other District staff. Page 17 October ?021