This Earth Day, Celebrate by Saving Water Outdoors

SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 19, 2013) - What better way to celebrate Earth Day this year than to save water outdoors? Monday, April 22 marks the 43^rd anniversary of Earth Day, a day when people around the world celebrate environmental citizenship. Save Our Water, a statewide water conservation education program, invites Californians to mark Earth Day 2013 by taking steps to save water outdoors.

Despite an extremely wet December, California's winter ultimately turned out to be one of the driest on record. At the end of March (the latest snow survey), the snowpack was only 52% of the historical average. This forced state water officials to reduce the amount of water the State Water Project delivers to local water agencies -- water agencies that serve the needs of 25 million people and nearly one million acres of agricultural land. Federal water officials are also making sharp cutbacks in their water deliveries.

The Save Our Water program, which was created by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) in 2009, educates consumers on ways to reduce their household water use. Outdoor water use is a major focus of the program since, in many areas, 50 percent or more of residential water use goes to lawns and outdoor landscaping. Program leaders are calling on consumers to take steps this Earth Day to reduce outdoor water use by picking California-friendly plants, converting to water-efficient irrigation systems and/or investing in a "smart" controller for their sprinklers.

"After this dry winter, we are concerned about this year's water supply," said DWR director Mark Cowin. "Water is critical to California's environment and economy. Saving water outdoors would be a great way to celebrate Earth Day this year."

San Diego Area Real People
Save Our Water's "Real People, Real Savings" campaign highlights homeowners who have reduced their outdoor water use by making changes to their landscaping. While some of the landscaping projects were extensive, others made minor changes to their plants and/or irrigation systems to save water. All of the homeowners profiled on the Save Our Water website have reduced their outdoor water use for the long term.

"As people spruce up their gardens this spring, we encourage them to learn about the many easy ways they can save water in their landscaping," said Jennifer Persike, ACWA's Deputy Executive Director for External Affairs and Operations. "Save Our Water's website, your local water agency's website, and your local nursery or home improvement store are great places to learn more about water-efficient landscape ideas." 

The Save Our Water website profiles the water-wise gardens of 41 different homeowners, including following the San Diego area residents:

Yaz & Richard Manley (San Marcos) replaced their lawn with water-wise landscaping several years ago. According to Yaz, "A sprawling green lawn in California was a bad idea that never should have blossomed. If we could collectively simply adjust our attitudes we would find surprisingly more beautiful and sustainable solutions for our future."

Roger Boyd (Solano Beach) installed his water-wise landscaping because he is passionate about saving water. "We live near the ocean where the desert meets the sea, he says. "Water continues to be a rare and valuable resource which must be conserved. We need to be aware that more than 90 percent of our water in Southern California is imported from the Colorado River and San Francisco Delta."

Helen DiZio (Rancho Sante Fe) loves that her low-water landscaping isn't high maintenance: "It can be neglected for a while. At least until I get back in the gardening mood."

For more information about the homeowners highlighted in the Real People, Real Savings campaign, please contact Save Our Water.

To learn more about the Save Our Water program, visit www.saveourh2o.org or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. Save Our Water is a joint program founded and run by the California Department of Water Resources and the Association of California Water Agencies.