[CLWA] – The Castaic Lake Water Agency board approved the reallocation Wednesday of $695,000 in available water conservation funds from the High-Efficiency Clothes Washer rebate program and the Weather-Based Irrigation Controller program in order to extend the life of its popular turf replacement programs for residents and commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Because outdoor water use constitutes about two-thirds of residential use statewide, irrigation of ornamental turf has been targeted by the state where a great amount of conservation can be achieved by replacing turf with less thirsty landscapes.

“In short, this is a matter of reallocating resources to reflect the overwhelming customer demand,” said CLWA General Manager Dan Masnada. “As we’ve all seen over the past few months, the state of California is serious about requiring communities to reduce their water use due to the record-setting drought. With over two thirds of water used for outside irrigation in the Santa Clarita Valley, turf replacement programs are excellent ways of accomplishing conservation, so shifting additional funds toward turf replacement makes conservation sense.”

The reallocation of funding does not cost the public any additional money, but allows CLWA to meet this spring’s and summer’s high demand by local residents and businesses for its turf replacement programs in response to Valley water suppliers’ calls for conservation and the State Water Resources Control Board mandating water conservation of up to 32 percent by the SCV water retailers.

“Of course to stay within budget something has to give. The HECW and WBIC programs have done a tremendous service to the community for the past several years. We’ve supplied over 2,200 WBICs and rebated over 5,100 washing machines in partnership with the water retailers,” Masnada said. “However, with the increased sense of urgency to reduce outdoor water use, this action will help the community to focus on where the greatest water savings can occur.”

As a result of the Board’s approval, the clothes washer rebate program — which offered $200 rebates on qualifying water-efficient washers — expired August 31, 2015, and the WBIC program will continue as long as current supplies last. CLWA still has approximately 300 controllers remaining in the program, which provides users the controllers and training on how to use them. These devices are particularly effective for higher water users that have landscapes that are over-irrigated.

“Even with the shifting of $695,000 to the Residential Lawn Replacement Program and the Large Landscape/Commercial Industrial and Institutional Program, CLWA will need to carefully administer these programs to ensure cost overruns do not occur,” said Dirk Marks, CLWA Water Resources Manager. “The demand has been so high that new customers will be added to a waiting list while we assess how many existing applicants will move forward with their drought-tolerant landscapes. Rebates have always been on an ‘as available’ basis but we want to minimize the chances that someone proceeds in good faith only to learn there is no money left in the current fiscal year budget.”

“Water conservation is, of course, an urgent need for all of California,” Masnada said. “This reprioritization makes a great deal of sense in light of that, and it represents a fiscally responsible use of the Agency’s finite water conservation funds.”

Additional information about each of CLWA’s conservation rebate programs is available at www.clwa.org/conservation.