City of Redding Sets Example in Water Conservation

water sprinkler Morguefile

While El Nino-driven rains may have put California’s drought out of mind for now, the City of Redding continues to significantly reduce water use in its parks, ballfields and public-grounds landscaping.

Redding, like all of California, remains under state mandate to reduce water consumption compared to 2013. The target for overall statewide conservation is 25 percent, however the City of Redding is mandated to attain a 33 percent conservation rate.

Redding customers have responded well to the call for conservation, reducing consumption by more than 27 percent since June 1, 2015, compared with 24.8 percent for the state overall. Customers have significantly reduced outside irrigation and water waste, and converted water-intensive landscaping to drought-tolerant types.

The City of Redding has worked hard to lead the way with reductions in water use for its parks, athletic fields, building landscaping and medians. As a result, since June 1, City water consumption for those areas has been reduced by nearly 44 percent.

This has been achieved through an aggressive effort to improve irrigation systems and their efficiency and modify some landscaping. Among the initiatives taken are:

– Replacing 125 irrigation controllers and 8,650 sprinkler heads Citywide to better distribute water, reducing overall amounts.

– Appropriation by the City Council of $50,000 to pay for irrigation system improvements. This will include replacement of another 25 controllers and 800 sprinkler heads, along with the removal of nearly 52,000 square feet of turf throughout the City – nearly the size of a football field.

– Utilizing workers through the SMART Business Resource Center to upgrade sprinkler systems making them more efficient.

Despite above-average rainfall this spring, it is expected that state-mandated restrictions in some form will remain in place through the upcoming summer. Continued efforts by City customers to conserve water is important and the City of Redding will continue to do its part.

Press Release

-from press release