National Weather Service forecasters are predicting rainfall for Los Angeles County and the southern California region starting tonight, with a 90 percent chance of showers on Wednesday. The Long Beach Water Department is urging residents, businesses and all public agencies to immediately shut off landscape watering systems through the weekend to conserve water.
"The rain we'll get tonight and tomorrow will sustain our landscapes until next week," according to Matt Lyons, Director of Conservation for the Long Beach Water Department. Irrigation systems can be turned off for several days following storms bringing measurable amounts of rain, and up to a week or more following heavier rain events. "We have a chance this week to save a lot of water, if we can shut down our irrigation systems," he added.
To determine when it is necessary to turn water systems back on, the Long Beach Water Department recommends monitoring soil moisture and plant stress. Check soil moisture by sticking a shovel or your finger into the dirt. When the soil is dry one to two inches deep, it is time to water. Signs of plant stress include wilting and/or a lack of luster in leaves or blades of grass.
Fifty to seventy percent of all the water we use in Long Beach is used outdoors, typically on our lawns. The biggest contribution we can make toward water conservation is to eliminate the most wasteful outdoor uses of water. Long Beach landscapes should only be watered Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and for no longer than 10 minutes per watering station. Watering three days each week is plenty of water to keep landscapes beautiful and healthy, particularly if you've landscaped with water-efficient plants, like those native to southern California.
The City of Long Beach implemented its Emergency Water Supply Shortage Plan in September 2007, following a declaration by the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners that a water supply shortage for the City, and southern California, is imminent. Certain outdoor uses of water have been prohibited in Long Beach for over a year. The City has set 10-year record lows of water consumption in 10 of the last 13 months.
For more water conservation tips, incentives, programs and for a complete list of illegal uses of water, visit www.lbwater.org
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Do I need to turn my sprinklers off when someone parks in front of my house with their car windows down? There's currently someone, probably next door or a few houses down parked in front of my house with their windows down. The idea of having our sprinklers on a timer is so we can kind of "forget" about turning them on and off. My gut instinct is to go next door and tell the person - they're relatively new neighbors. But then again I'm almost always too nice. Most everyone I talk to says it's not my problem - it's theirs. Part of me thinks I should be nice but the other part of me thinks I can't be street monitor. Opinions? Similar experiences?
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williamgeorge
link build
Hi William. I'm sorry we didn't respond to your comment much sooner. We simply over-looked it. Concerning your new neighbor...I would give him a heads up about your sprinklers and the timer. If it were your car, you would want the same. You may also consider turning your system down a bit. Often, systems are set to high...overspray. Tuning your system up from time to time...using a medium to low spray is plenty adequate...particulary this time of year. Anyway, thanks for the comment. Thanks so much for your support. You may also be interested in following us on Twitter. At your service.
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