Valencia Water Company (VWC) is encouraging customers to maintain their water-saving achievements from the recent drought and take advantage of improved rebates, incentives, online workshops and other resources to secure permanent water efficiencies inside their homes and for their landscapes.

VWC now offers a higher rebate for customers who convert outdoor watering systems to drip irrigation systems. The rebate was increased from 25 cents to 50 cents a square foot of converted landscape. Customers also can apply to Castaic Lake Water Agency for a $2-per-square-foot incentive for replacing their lawns with a water-efficient landscape.

In addition, VWC offers rebates for other irrigation devices, including 75 percent for the cost of an irrigation master pressure regulator, $10 per pressure-regulating spray bodies, and 100 percent for installing high-efficiency nozzles. A pressure regulator is an important tool for proper water flows, to avoid premature wear of irrigation nozzles and bodies, and to improve water use efficiency by reducing water waste due to misting.

“Now – before the summer weather hits – is the best time to look around your landscapes for a simple tune-up. The best thing we can all do is make sure our landscapes are using water in the most efficient way. We can’t afford to waste water anymore and we certainly need to keep taking steps before the next drought,” said Ken Petersen, General Manager for Valencia Water Company.

Examples of a WaterSMART garden can be found at VWC’s headquarters, located at 24631 Avenue Rockefeller in Valencia. A conversion to drought-tolerant landscaping and high-efficiency irrigation systems that began more than a year ago is now ready for visitors. Locally available plants are identified and visitors can pick up an informational brochure in the office lobby.

The WaterSMART Garden is a colorful display of low-water-using plants and trees, many of which attract butterflies and hummingbirds, as well as how to use drip irrigation.

“The recent severe drought taught us a valuable lesson – landscapes and gardens can remain beautiful in dry weather if we use the right plants. We were encouraged by so many customers taking the opportunity during the drought to convert their landscapes. Now, with our WaterSMART garden and additional rebates, we hope to inspire more customers to do the same,” Petersen said.

Converting landscapes from turf-dominate designs to water-friendly ones can be done efficiently and affordably, said Matthew Dickens, VWC’s resource conservation manager.
“Most homeowners can create a WaterSMART garden in four easy steps – create the design, remove the turf, install the new drought-tolerant plants and trees and replace spray-head irrigation with drip irrigation,” Dickens said. “The key will be to give your new garden about a year to establish itself – just like our garden did.”

In addition to visiting a drought-tolerant garden in action, VWC continues to offer its “Water SMART Workshop,” an interactive online class that provides customers with information on how to remain water efficient, how to analyze their bill, and more. Customers who complete the course receive a $20 credit on their water bill. Hundreds of Santa Clarita Valley residents have taken the class.

More details are available on the VWC website ValenciaWater.com or by calling 661-294-0828. For regular WaterSMART tips and updates, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @ValenciaWater. Together, we’ll save water.