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Now available in Spanish, Western Municipal Water District’s (WMWD) new, free handbook, the SoCal Yard Transformation guide, is available for the district’s customers as well residents throughout the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA). The watershed authority includes not only WMWD but also Eastern Municipal Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Orange County Water District and San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District.
The landscaping guide offers full-color illustrations and information on topics including water, planning, soil, planting, utilizing native plants, irrigation, and sustainability. The Spanish language version was developed in response to the more than 1.5 million Hispanic/Latino residents in the watershed region.
“With such a significant demographic of Spanish-speaking residents within the Santa Ana Watershed, we wanted to provide a version of the book for those who prefer to read in Spanish. We want our Spanish-speaking residents to know that upgrading their landscape doesn’t have to be expensive or troubling, but rather it can be fun and rewarding in surprising ways,” said Pam Pavela, WMWD’s water resources specialist, handbook editor and co-author. “Adjusting your home’s landscape can increase your property value and save money on your water bill.”
The guide was written by experts in an easy-to-understand manner along with a dose of humor. Assisting local homeowners to strive for sustainable water use, both the English and Spanish versions of the guide provide important recommendations on how to create permanent water-saving landscape changes. With California’s cyclical drought conditions and atmospheric storms, homeowners now have a helpful guide to adapt their yard to be water wise.
SoCal Yard Transformation’s seven chapters break down everything that homeowners need to know to create a lasting transformation:
Water: Where it comes from, how it gets to the tap, and the true cost to the customer
Planning: A simple guide on how to design a water-efficient landscape
Soil: The foundation of all landscapes, and the life it contains
Planting: The who, what, where, when and why of planting and care of plants
Natives: Why these plants are important
Irrigation: How to irrigate efficiently, covering topics such as scheduling, troubleshooting, and how to make improvements
Sustainability: Creating a holistic, long-term landscape
The SoCal Yard Transformation was made possible through funding from Proposition 84 — the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality, and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 which provides $5.388 billion in general obligation bonds to fund safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, waterway and natural resource protection, water pollution and contamination control, state and local park improvements, public access to natural resources, and water conservation efforts.
The guide can be picked up at WMWD’s office at 14205 Meridian Parkway in Riverside or can be requested by calling call 951-571-7100.
