Water Efficiency July/August 2012 : Page 12
Top: Denver Water’s Xeriscape demonstration waterwise garden is open to the public on weekdays. Right: San Antonio Water conservation consultant Erin Conant talks with a homeowner about making his sprinkler system more efficient. it has evolved from simple rebates to a combination of rebates and require-ments. Residents are restricted to ir-rigating landscapes one day a week. Th e exception is hand watering and using drip irrigation within certain param-eters. If there is runoff , the customer will get a citation. Rebates, requirements, and educa-tion are the touchstones of SAWS’ con-servation program, and the community supports this model, says Nichols. Th e original rebate program off ered rebates for rain sensors attached to irrigation systems. Now these are required. Th e latest rebate program is one-and-a-half-years old and is well received by the community, says Mark Peterson, project coordinator in SAWS’ conservation department. Seventy resi-dents and 45 commercial customers are currently enrolled. Peterson continues: “Controllers have to be micromanaged by contrac-tors and landscapers. Installation and 12 WATER EFFICIENCY WWW.WATEREFFICIENCY.NET SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM (SAWS) DENVER WATER
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