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East County News Service
April 8, 2016 (La Mesa) - At their April 6, 2016 meeting, Helix Water District’s Board of Directors approved a three day per week limit on landscape irrigation, rescinding the two-day limit in effect since June 2015, when the State Water Resources Control Board mandated a 25 percent reduction in statewide water use.
This change allows Helix customers, including the cities and schools within the district, to increase irrigation while continuing to comply with all other Level 2 drought restrictions, including a 10 minute per watering day limit on spray-type sprinklers and a ban on irrigation runoff.
Helix encourages customers to give struggling trees the additional water they need to survive and thrive as the heat of summer approaches, and would like to remind customers that the 10 minute limit does not apply to drip irrigation, rotating nozzle sprinklers, gear rotor sprinklers, weather-based controllers or hand watering with a positive shut-off nozzle.
The additional day of watering comes after five months of advocacy by San Diego County water agencies, including Helix, petitioning the state to reduce the mandatory water use reduction level based on the region’s investment since the 1990s in water conservation and drought-resilient water resources, including the Carlsbad Desalination Plant. In March, the state approved an eight percent credit for water agencies throughout the county, reducing Helix’s water savings target from 20 percent to 12 percent.
For recommendations on watering trees, go to www.hwd.com/trees.
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