Spruce Up Your Sprinkler System and Save

It’s been a long, hard winter for your yard. While your plants go dormant to cope with the colder weather, your sprinkler system can feel the effects of winter, too. Cracks in the pipes can lead to costly leaks, and broken sprinkler heads can waste water and money. You could be losing up to 25,000 gallons of water and more than $90 over a six-month irrigation season—the cost of about 300 daffodil bulbs!

Now is the perfect time to spruce up your irrigation system before you ramp up your watering efforts this spring and summer. To get started, follow these four simple steps—inspect, connect, direct, and select:

• Inspect. Check your system for clogged, broken, or missing sprinkler heads. If you’re not the do-it-yourself type, go with a pro—look for an irrigation professional certified through a WaterSense labeled irrigation program.

• Connect. Examine points where the sprinkler heads connect to pipes/hoses. If water is pooling in your landscape or you have large wet areas, you could have a leak in your system. A leak as small as the tip of a ballpoint pen (1/32^nd of an inch) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.

• Direct. Are you watering the driveway, house, or sidewalk instead of your yard? Redirect sprinklers to apply water only to your lawn or prized plants.

• Select. An improperly scheduled irrigation controller can waste a lot of water and money. Update your system’s schedule with the seasons, or select a WaterSense labeled controller to take the guesswork out of scheduling.

Don’t forget to add “sprinkler spruce-up” to your spring cleaning list this year. Learn more about maintaining a water-smart yard by visiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense website at www.epa.gov/watersense/outdoor

Water Conservation Requirements

The Level 1 Water Shortage Declaration has been rescinded. However, year round water use restrictions remain in place. Pomona’s City Council adopted Ordinance 4122 establishing year round water use efficiency best management practices. Residents are required to practice the following common sense measures to use water as efficiently as possible:

Best Practices:

• Set automatic irrigation timers to water before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m., limited to no more than 15 minutes watering per day per station
• Exceptions: Hand-watering, drip irrigation, "smart" (e.g., weather-based) irrigation controllers

• Adjust watering and fix broken heads to avoid excessive runoff from irrigation
• Turn off irrigation during rain
• Repair leaks within seven (7) days of discovery
• Use a hose with a shut-off nozzle to wash vehicles, or use automatic commercial wash
• No hosing down of paved surfaces, except when required for health or safety purposes
• Restaurants serve water only upon request
• Hotels offer guests the option to not launder linen daily

Basically, we're asking our customers to watch their daily water usage, and find ways to cut back.

If we apply simple, common sense water-saving measures to our daily lives, we'll ensure a plentiful water supply this year and for years to come.

Remember: The water we save today may be the water we need tomorrow!

Reporting Water Wasters:

To report water wasters in the City of Pomona, please call the Water Watcher 24-Hour Reporting Line at (909) 620-2244. Please report what violation took place, when, where, and what time it took place, and any additional information that may be helpful. Your contact information is helpful but not required.

Rebates and Incentives:

Be WaterWise

Metropolian Water District of Southern California

WaterSense Promotional Partner

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