Full Description

In 1991, the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) voluntarily signed onto the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding 14 Best Management Practices (BMPs) for urban water conservation in California. MWDOC is a wholesaler of imported water to 28 retail water agencies throughout Orange County, California. On behalf of its member agencies, MWDOC develops, obtains grant funding for and implements both local and regional water use efficiency programs consistent with the Best Management Practices. This paper focuses on implementation of BMP #5, Landscape Irrigation Budgets, which calls for the development of Landscape Irrigation Budgets, regular irrigation performance reporting and education for managers of dedicated landscape irrigation meters. In Orange County, 32 retail agencies serve approximately 13,600 dedicated landscape meters, which are targeted for participation in Orange County's Landscape Performance Certification Program. The primary program target audience includes landscape maintenance contractors, homeowner association boards, residential and commercial Property Management Companies, city and school district landscape maintenance staff, and County of Orange Harbors, Beaches and Parks staff. The target audience attends the Introductory Workshop to learn about the program. Those who are interested begin completing site data forms for each landscape meter and submit those forms to the implementation contractor, ConserVision. The landscape contractor provides site data through the site data forms, which is needed to develop the landscape irrigation budget (LIB). The implementation contractor databases site information, develop LIBs, compare the budget to actual water use provided by the retail water agency, and report LIB performance through the program web page. If a contractor irrigates at or below the LIB, the Landscape Contractor would be certified as an efficient irrigator. Landscape contractors meeting the LIB performance standard would have access to a magnetic logo promoting their ability to irrigate efficiently. Retail water agencies would also promote the program by promoting certified landscape maintenance contractors in their newsletters, press releases and special events. The overall program is supported by a series of technical workshops for landscape contractors. Includes tables.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/01/2002 Number of Pages: 5File Size: 1 file , 170 KB