A season for conservation

The first month of irrigating the ¾-acre of landscaping at his Rincon Valley home caused his water use to shoot from 3,000 gallons to 29,000.

"I don't like wasting anything," said Berman, who moved into the home 18 months ago. "This is lush landscaping. It's beautiful, but we may start to think about drought-resistant plants."

Using as much water as Berman did is not unusual, said Randall Barron, a city of Santa Rosa water conservation technician.

During a two-hour water audit Friday, what Barron found also was typical -- sprinkler heads that were old, leaking, blocked by shrubbery, aimed the wrong way and inefficient; drip irrigation where there no longer were plants; and faucets and a shower head that needed restrictors.

"By replacing sprinkler heads and going to drip in some areas where you now have overhead sprinklers, you can easily save half of that water," Barron said.

The weather is heating up, with temperatures in the 70s and 80s the next few days. That means yard irrigation is expected to move into high gear.

Yet the Sonoma County Water Agency already is warning that without more rainfall to increase the level of water in Lake Mendocino near Ukiah, there probably will be some form of water conservation again this year.

"We don't have at this point a specific target that we are aiming for. However, that is partly because we don't know what the water supply will be," said Pam Jeane, the Water Agency's deputy director of operations. "The message at this point is that less is more -- using less water means more water for the environment and recreation."

The agency last year was under a mandatory state order to limit the water it took from the Russian River so that more could be stored in Lake Mendocino for release during the fall spawning run of chinook salmon.

It in turn passed the conservation order to its contractors, including Santa Rosa, its largest customer.

"Now is the time when people are starting to turn irrigation systems on. It is a good time for everyone to check out to make sure it is operating correctly, that there are no leaks or breaks or blockages," said Jennifer Burke, a senior water resources manager with the city.

Santa Rosa has an extensive water conservation program that includes free water inspections, such as those by Barron.

Barron downloaded a satellite image of Berman's house and landscaping and then spent two hours checking every faucet, shower, toilet and the sprinkler and drip irrigation systems.

He even set up 18 catch-cans on a 380-square-foot lawn to determine how much water the sprinklers emitted and how it was distributed.

"Not well," said Barron, summarizing his findings. "I will have to take it back and put it into a spreadsheet to crunch the numbers, but it's very uneven."

The city will give homeowners as much as $350 toward repairing irrigation systems and $250 for removing lawns.

The city also gives out free self-testing kits that include water bags to measure shower and faucet flow, dye tablets to check for toilet leaks and a list of what to look for with irrigation systems.

Barron recommends replacing sprinkler heads with multi-stream rotor heads, which can be adjusted to control spread and throw, and which also throw out heavy drops of water that aren't affected by wind.

Berman said he appreciated the city's program.

"I like to save money, but it isn't the issue. To conserve water is the issue, because it'll run out," he said. "This is extremely valuable."

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg

@pressdemocrat.com.