A water
conservation plan is being implemented for city-owned landscaping
that should help the independently run Yorba Linda Water District
meet a state-mandated 36 percent water use reduction requirement.
The
water district is responsible for enforcing conservation measures,
which jumped to Stage 3 rules June 1, but the city, as the district's
largest water user, “understands the requirements put on the
district by the state,” noted an extensive report from three
top-level management officials.
The
report from Public Works Director Mike Wolfe, Community Development
Director Steve Harris and Parks and Recreation Superintendent Mike
Kudron outlines new conservation measures that will have a huge
impact on the city's longtime lush, green appearance.
Most
affected will be more than a half-million square feet of ornamental
turf in street medians, nearly all maintained by the city's
cash-strapped Landscape Maintenance Assessment District and financed
by fees collected with property taxes and subsidies from the city's
general fund.
Turf in
medians represents about 22 percent of the landscape district's total
turf but only three percent of the land area, with landscape district
operations consuming about 6.5 percent of the water district's entire
annual production, the city report stated.
Replacing
ornamental turf with California-friendly, drought-tolerant
landscaping would cost $2.7 million for design and construction.
Some of the landscape district's benefit zones have reserve funds
that could cover $321,700 of the cost, leaving some $2.4 million to
be found from other sources during upcoming budget discussions.
“Nearly
all of the ornamental turf in public street medians is Kikuyu grass.
It's possible that after the water is turned off, the grass can lie
dormant for the summer and return to somewhat of its original form
with a normal winter precipitation level,” the Wolfe-Harris-Kudron
report stated.
But
watering trees in medians needs to be addressed “to avoid future
costs, if the trees cannot survive without irrigation,” according
to the report. Also, “It should be noted that an increase in
irrigation is needed during the establishment process of new
landscaping, including California-friendly, drought-tolerant plants.”
Another
change will be cutting irrigation after measurable rainfalls. The
city had been adjusting more than 350 clocks to zero watering upon a
high prediction of precipitation – “in the neighborhood of 80
percent.” That will drop to 50 percent for a clock change, noted
the report.
With
watering limited to two days per week during summer, park officials
see problems for “proper maintenance and overall park conditions.”
They noted, “Lack of sufficient watering combined with regular use
of parks and athletic fields could lead to diminished fields and
potentially unsafe conditions.”
Plans
include identifying small turf areas to replace with drought-tolerant
plants.