Trade in your old lawn sprinkler system for a new, more water-efficient system -- for free! The City of Santa Monica's offering 150 of its residents an opportunity to swap out old controllers for a free, state-of-the-art model.
How to get this freebie: Call the city at 866.728.3229 to make the required reservation. Then, on Sat., March 31, 2007, from 9 to 11 am, go to the Santa Monica Pier with your old controller and a copy of your water bill. There, you'll participate in a half-hour training workshop and receive a new controller.
The new sprinkler system controllers should save you money in the long run too. Andy Hui, a member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, says in a press release that "These state-of-the-art devices monitor your garden or landscape’s environmental conditions and water your plants accordingly. One study showed water savings of up to 40 gallons per household per day, or about 10 percent of total water use."
This exchange, sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District, the City of Santa Monica, and Heal the Bay with grant funding from Proposition 13 through the California Department of Water Resources, is just one part of a larger, regional educational effort to encourage water conservation. You can find out more about through bewaterwise, an informational website sponsored by the Family of Southern California Water Agencies.
If you want to make your lawn or garden even more water-efficient, read about the grants the City of Santa Monica is offering for water-conserving landscape projects.
[image by Matt Holt]
