Noting a “distinct possibility…that the current drought will stretch into a fifth straight year in 2016 and beyond”, for the first time in California’s legendary drought, Gov. Jerry Brown has imposed mandatory water restrictions. Cities and towns have been ordered to reduce usage by 25%. The mandated cut will equal approximately 487,500,000,000 gallons of water over the next nine months.
Non-compliant California Cities Receive Penalties
Some cities haven’t been doing enough to conserve water during previous years of the drought, and they are getting hit harder with restrictions and penalties, with hopes that they will step up their conservation efforts and actually achieve the mandated reduction. State agencies and water suppliers are working together to identify methods that would promote conservation, from new rate structures to smart water meters to the infamous “snitching neighbors” system.
Smart Cities Have Been Conserving Water For Years
But some California cities have had highly effective water conservation systems in place for years. The City of LaVerne, California, is a great example. Since January 2012, the city has installed over 120 Weathermatic SmartLine controllers with weather stations throughout their 120 acres of city parks. They are consistently saving 30-35% on their water usage from month to month, despite historic drought conditions. From November to April they are able to reduce watering by 50%, and the weather stations ensure that any time they are lucky enough to get rain, the parks’ sprinklers will not accidentally run.
More Cities Begin Water Conservation Programs Every Day
LaVerne is just one of the smart customers utilizing ground-breaking smart irrigation technology to produce dramatic water savings. At least one new city signs up with Weathermatic’s cloud-based irrigation management network every day, across the U.S. We are proud to work with so many cities that recognize the immense value of a strong water conservation plan and the role that irrigation technology plays in it.
This was written by Weathermatic CEO Mike Mason, who, after a mission trip to El Salvador was faced with the reality of the global water crisis and came home ready to make a change in the highly inefficient irrigation industry. Mason committed to providing tech-based solutions (http://www.smartlinknetwork.com/) to increase efficiency in irrigation, as well as forming Weathermatic’s Save Water | Give Life program (https://www.weathermatic.com/about-us/).
