San Clemente: Residents To Reduce Irrigation When Turning Clocks Back

Press release from the City of San Clemente:

October 29, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

10/29/2020…San Clemente, California… The City of San Clemente Utilities Department reminds its customers that the end of Daylight Savings Time this weekend is an opportune time to dial down their irrigation times while also turning back their clocks.

The most reliable way to predict the irrigation requirement of any landscape is by the hours of daylight it receives, rather than the outdoor temperature, so regardless of short-term weather fluctuations, residents are encouraged to change the programming of their irrigation system to winter watering levels at this time. Furthermore, any measurable rainfall in the coming months will further offset that requirement, so prior to a forecasted storm event, residents should take care to turn off any irrigation system not equipped with a rain sensor.

At a minimum, the Utilities Department suggests a general guideline for setting a standard irrigation timer to run the following times as we head into the winter months: 2 cycles of 3 minutes, 2 days per week for turf; and 2 cycles of 4 minutes, 1 day per week for trees, shrubs, and groundcover. Residents should take into consideration the microclimate of each zone in their landscape when deviating from these settings. Those who continue to observe runoff due to particularly impermeable clay soils should cut turf cycle times in half and add twice as many cycles.

For additional water savings, residents should take advantage of the watering index feature available on most modern irrigation controllers to automatically and gradually transition their irrigation schedule from peak summer watering to reduced winter irrigation levels. For more information on the watering index, please visit http://www.bewaterwise.com/watering-index.html.

Finally, residents should also take advantage of this up-close look at their controller to watch one cycle of their irrigation system run, verifying that everything is operational with no breaks or leaks in the system.

Residents who need additional assistance setting or adjusting an irrigation timer can contact the City’s Water Conservation Analyst at (949) 361-8354 for guidance, including an informative irrigation audit, at no cost to the homeowner. The City also would like to remind residents looking to upgrade their irrigation timer to a new, weather-based “smart” model, that rebates are available to San Clemente water customers and may cover the retail cost of such devices up to $260. Go to http://www.san-clemente.org/Wa... to learn more about water conservation, irrigation timers, and other rebate programs.

PRESS RELEASE - Residents to Reduce Irrigation When Turning Clocks Back

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This press release was produced by the City of San Clemente. The views expressed here are the author’s own.