Community church saves more than 500,000 gallons of water per year through landscape makeover.

In celebration of Smart Irrigation Month, Rain Bird Corporation is unveiling the CLC Landscape Renovation Project, a charitable partnership that showcases irrigation products and smart watering practices from 25 Ways to Save, an initiative Rain Bird launched in 2015. Working alongside a coalition of partners and volunteers, Community Lutheran Church (CLC) and Saddleback Children’s Center in Rancho Santa Margarita have been transformed into a model of water-efficiency and sustainable landscaping that will save over 500,000 gallons of water annually while bringing natural beauty to the community for years to come.

“CLC had a 30-year-old landscape and outdated irrigation system that was using an average of 1.2 million gallons of water annually,” said Alex Nathanson, Rain Bird’s corporate marketing brand manager. “With California’s recent severe drought, their water bills were continuing to climb, the landscape was suffering and runoff was damaging the parking lot and other hardscape.”

“I would see places where it was just soaking, where water was standing in the parking lot,” said Pastor Marty Jacobson. “There were other places where the grass was dying. It didn’t look very good and the maintenance issues were a nightmare.”

In September of 2015, CLC turned to Santa Margarita Water District for help. A free commercial landscape irrigation survey provided by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California revealed broken sprinkler heads, leaks, high water pressure and generally poor sprinkler coverage throughout the property. An outdated control system and the lack of any weather-sensing or rain shut-off devices further contributed to the irrigation system’s overall inefficiency. Furthermore, the landscape consisted primarily of turf with substantial thatch build-up, making it difficult for water to reach the underlying soil and roots.

“Rain Bird saw this as a great opportunity to help create a beautiful, sustainable, water-efficient landscape that could serve as a model for any home or business,” Nathanson said. “With more than 80 years of experience, the industry’s most complete line of irrigation products and our 25 Ways to Save initiative as a guide, we knew we could show people everywhere that it’s possible to use less water and still enjoy healthy, beautiful landscapes.”

“We in Rancho Santa Margarita are committed to water conservation and the City commends Community Lutheran Church and its partners in the CLC Landscape Renovation Project for their efforts to make our community more water-wise,” said the Honorable Tony Beall, Mayor of Rancho Santa Margarita.

The Plan

Peter Mowery, design director with C2 Collaborative Landscape Design, created a professional landscape plan outlining a modern, beautiful and water-efficient new landscape, full of native plants, colorful flowers and beautiful trees. Students at the adjoining Saddleback Children's Center preschool will soon be able to watch butterflies and hummingbirds as they walk through the new garden and landscape learning about water conservation and native plants. Many of the plants used on the site are recommended by Santa Margarita Water District's SustainaBlue Landscapes program.

The Renovation

Rain Bird Corporation donated all of the water-saving irrigation products needed to transform the old sprinkler system. Professional contractor George Alonzo and his crew at Advanced Patio & Landscape began the challenging task of analyzing and overhauling the existing irrigation system. They chased down leaks, capped off unused heads, repaired and moved existing valves, fixed broken pipes, rerouted control wires and began the extensive conversion to new water-efficient irrigation throughout the property. They used a powerful tractor loader backhoe from Compact Power Equipment Rental to remove old plants and shrubs, dig holes for new trees, transport materials and improve the site grading. Within a few weeks, a beautiful, water-efficient landscape full of native plants and colorful flowers began to emerge.

The new landscape is now a showcase of Rain Bird water-efficiency solutions. XFD dripline and QF dripline header were used to convert much of the site to water saving drip. Rain Bird 1800 Spray to Drip Retrofit Kits were used throughout the site to quickly create a connection point for drip tubing, especially on difficult areas like the parking lot medians. An existing Rain Bird 1.5 inch brass valve was adapted to control the new drip zone thanks to the addition of a PRS Dial pressure regulator and Quick Check basket filter.

The two old controllers were replaced with a brand new Rain Bird ESP-LXME modular controller, complete with a new master valve and flow sensor, wireless rain sensor and Rain Bird IQ v3.0 central control. The new system will automatically adjust with the weather and can be controlled via smart phone from anywhere in the world with internet access.

The Plants

Another project partner, Mountain States Wholesale Nursery , saw the opportunity to showcase its beautiful native and low water use plants to help demonstrate that a water-efficient "New California Landscape" doesn't just mean rocks and cacti anymore. Parkinsonia "Desert Musuem" Palo Verde trees with their green trunks and gorgeous yellow flowers sit alongside Pink Parade hesperaloe, agave and more.

All of the mulch from Apollo Wood Products used on the project is from recycled wood products. It provides many advantages including keeping in moisture, reducing weeds, keeping plant roots cooler and aesthetically it looks amazing.

Out with the old, in with the new (grass).

Much of the old turf grass areas were replaced with native plants and trees, however the church members and preschool kids still needed grassy areas for events, gatherings and playtime. The new landscape plan called for three areas of fresh new water-efficient "Ballpark Blend" sod from A-G Sod Farms. The new grass is a combination of warm-season Hybrid Bermuda overseeded with a blend of cool-season Ryegrass and Kentucky Bluegrass and requires 20-30% less water.

“Turf has a lot of advantages: it cools the environment down, it creates oxygen and provides safe areas for kids to play,” said Paul Gaudet, sales rep with A-G Sod Farms. “By doing wise management of water and putting in the right type of turf, maybe downsizing a little bit, you can pretty much have your cake and eat it too.”

All of the new grass is being efficiently watered in three different ways: Rain Bird’s 5000 Plus PRS pressure regulating rotors in a large back patio area, Rain Bird 1800SAMP45 pressure regulating sprays with high efficiency R-VAN rotary nozzles in the front, and Rain Bird XFS subsurface drip emitter tubing in the preschool kids’ play area.

A Community Celebration

The project will continue to provide value beyond the month of July, as the water district and other project partners use the site to educate others on how to improve their landscapes, discover beautiful new plant species and use far less water. Visit http://www.rainbird.com/SIM-CLC to learn more about the unique challenges of the project, the valuable contributions of the partners and watch the story unfold from concept to completion.

The project has been recognized by the Mayor of Rancho Santa Margarita, in addition to receiving Santa Margarita Water District's SustainaBlue Program "Water Heroes of the Month" award for July.

“We definitely want everyone to hear the story behind the CLC project, but we also encourage anyone who’s interested in reducing their outdoor water use to visit our 25 Ways website,” Nathanson said. “There, they’ll find lots of water-saving tips for residential properties, commercial sites, golf courses and farms. Water is one of our planet’s more precious resources and it is important for all of us to use water more intelligently.”