Irrigation, by definition, is to “supply land with water,” from the Latin word irrigatus.
As you are probably aware, water rates in San Diego went up by 5 percent in December, followed by an additional 4 percent increase Jan. 1. With scarcity of water increasing, rates likely will continue to rise.
What services does your water bill cover? Approximately 59 percent of the public utilities budget for the 2024 fiscal year is expected to go toward the purchase of imported water. The remaining 41 percent is for upgrades, maintenance and debt service for the city’s water system, such as an ongoing project to replace 40 miles of pipelines each year to reduce pipe failures.
How to reduce your water bill? Here are seven options to consider, depending on your current water consumption, available time and money:
Leaks are a primary reason water goes to waste. Check your irrigation to ensure it is operating correctly.
(Kobi Bardugo)
• Start with leak detection, which can be tricky. Check your water bill. If you see a major consumption increase and you aren’t hosting your in-laws again, you may have a leak. Then check for a wet spot, leaking pipe or broken sprinkler. It can be time-consuming, but the effort quickly results in a lower water bill. Once you find the leak, consider hiring a professional landscaper or, if you are fixing it yourself, attend a workshop provided by the city or consult a credible online resource.
• Update your irrigation timer to a Wi-Fi “smart” irrigation controller. The smart controller receives live information from a local weather station and will water your landscape with the needed amount of water, including stopping watering on rainy days. Cities or counties may offer rebates for purchasing a smart controller.
Rain barrels come in a variety of sizes to fit a homeowner’s needs and available space. This one is 420 gallons.
(Kobi Bardugo)
• Add one or more rain barrels. The San Diego region receives an average of 12 inches of rain per year, which does not meet the needs of this metropolitan area. Much of the rain goes to the ocean as runoff. To help keep that rainwater on your property, install a rain barrel, which will redirect the rain that falls on your roof, via the gutters, into a storage container that you can redirect into your landscape when and where it is needed.
• Apply mulch (wood chips, gravel, bark, etc.) on top of your garden’s soil. This cost-effective step will reduce evaporation and therefore retain water in the soil for the plants’ use. Mulch also will reduce weed growth, making less work for the home gardener, and will help ensure you’re irrigating your plants and trees and not weeds.
• Update your irrigation system. Save water by either changing traditional rotor irrigation heads to MP rotator heads or converting to drip irrigation. Both are highly efficient methods of watering plants by delivering precise amounts of water directly to plants, minimizing water waste and maximizing plant growth. With drip irrigation, water is distributed through a network of tubes, pipes and emitters placed near the base of plants. With MP rotator heads, water is distributed in a finer spray more evenly for better coverage and absorption.
Newsletter
Get the La Jolla Light weekly in your inbox
News, features and sports about La Jolla, every Thursday for free
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the La Jolla Light.
• Consider removing your lawn, partially or entirely. It can offer several benefits both for the environment and homeowners. Key advantages of lawn removal include:
a. Water conservation: Lawns typically require significant amounts of water to maintain their lush appearance, especially in regions with hot and dry climates. By removing all or part of a lawn, homeowners can significantly reduce their water consumption, contributing to water conservation and lower water bills.
b. Reduced chemical usage: Many homeowners use pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers to maintain their lawns, which can have detrimental effects on the environment and human health. Removing a lawn eliminates the need for such chemicals, leading to a healthier and more sustainable landscape.
c. Lower maintenance requirements: Maintaining a lawn requires regular mowing, edging and fertilizing, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. By replacing a lawn with low-maintenance landscaping options such as native plants, ground covers or hardscape features, homeowners can reduce the time and effort spent on yard maintenance.
• Re-landscape with low-water-use plants. Consider using natives, which are naturally adapted to our region. When properly installed, they require less water, fertilizer and maintenance than non-native plants, making them well-suited for landscaping projects. Though they use less water, they will need supplemental irrigation the first few years after planting in order to get established in the landscape. To emulate nature, overhead irrigation is recommended.
Kobi Bardugo is a University of California Cooperative Extension master gardener and a San Diego licensed landscaping contractor with a degree in environmental science and botany. For questions about home gardening, call the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County hotline at (858) 822-6910 or email help@mastergardenerssandiego.org. ◆
