Free workshop teaches basics of drip irrigation

Prizes for saving water

Ratepayers in a host of Sonoma County communities have a new incentive to save water: Cutting back could mean a big prize.

Eligible residents just need to fill out and submit an online form indicating how they plan to cut back on water use and they will be entered into a drawing to win a high-efficiency washing machine or toilet, a smart irrigation controller or water monitor, a rainwater catchment system or a gift certificate for a car wash that recycles wash water.

Cotati Mayor Susan Harvey, who chairs the Water Advisory Committee that oversees the partnership, said in a news release, “We’re facing an unprecedented drought in the Russian River watershed, and this is a great way for residents to get involved and discover ways they can save water, right now. We want everyone to understand how serious this drought is and to meet the challenge of saving as much water as possible.”

The Russian River watershed is suffering a historic drought; this is the third-driest water year on record over the last 127 years. Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino water supply levels have reached historic lows.

The Water Advisory Committee to Sonoma Water and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has adopted a resolution calling for 20% voluntary water conservation, and the state has directed Sonoma Water to reduce its diversions from the Russian River. The city of Santa Rosa has imposed a mandatory 20% reduction in water use. In Healdsburg, the restrictions are even more severe with individuals allowed to consume only 75 gallons a day. Automatic sprinklers and drip irrigation are prohibited.

Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership represents 13 water utilities in Sonoma and Marin counties which have joined together to provide a regional approach to water use efficiency. The drawing is open to Sonoma County residents at least 18 years old who live in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Petaluma, Sonoma, Cotati, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, North Marin and Windsor and ratepayers in the Valley of the Moon and California American Water districts (Larkfield and Sonoma Water).

To enter, visit savingwaterpartnership.org/challenge. The site also includes 31 water-savings tips for home and garden and ways to access information about consumer rebates.

Learn the basics of drip irrigation

Drip irrigation is the most efficient way to irrigate your landscape. Learn why and what equipment to use during a free workshop July 13 put on by the City of Santa Rosa and Daily Acts of Petaluma.

The workshop will cover how to improve water-use efficiency through drip irrigation, how to adapt existing overhead sprinklers to drip irrigation, how to take advantage of the city of Santa Rosa’s Irrigation Efficiency Rebate and how to use different types of irrigation devices.

The workshop will be led by Oscar Lucario, a landscaper designer and land manager who has practiced sustainable maintenance for more than 20 years in Marin and Sonoma counties. He has worked in home gardens as well as at food production farms and land preserves. 5:30- 7 p.m. Registration is necessary to receive the link. dailyacts.org/events-cal/drip-irrigation-basics

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at 707-521-5204 or meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com. OnTwitter @megmcconahey.