Cal Water Expands Water-Saving Programs for Customers Amid Growing Drought Emergency

South San Francisco, CA September 16, 2021 Submitted by CalWater

{Note: The majority of businesses and residents in South San Francisco are provided water service by the Bayshore District of California Water Service Company. Those in the Westborough area are serviced by Westborough Water District}

Incentives help customers save money and use water wisely

As the drought intensifies, local water utility California Water Service (Cal Water) is helping customers save water every day through expanded water conservation programs and educational resources. These programs and resources include newly launched lawn-to-garden and spray-to-drip rebates, which offer incentives for Cal Water customers to make their landscaping and irrigation systems as efficient as possible.

Cal Water’s lawn-to-garden program offers a rebate of $3 per square foot of lawn removed and replaced with low-water use landscaping. The spray-to-drip program provides a rebate of $0.50 per square foot of landscaping converted from a standard spray irrigation system to a drip system, as drip irrigation uses 20 to 50 percent less water compared to sprinklers.

“We partnered with Bayshore District customers and businesses to achieve impressive water savings during the last drought,” said Ross Moilan, District Manager. “Now, we are offering even more support for our customers to reduce their water use as we face increasingly serious drought conditions.”

These incentives are in addition to Cal Water’s existing industry-leading conservation programs to help save water every day, including:

• Rebates on high-efficiency appliances and devices, with certain rebates recently doubled
• A smart landscape tune-up program that includes an irrigation system evaluation along with installation of efficient devices and repair of most irrigation leaks at no cost to customers
• A free conservation kit that includes a garden hose nozzle with shutoff valve, high-efficiency showerheads, faucet aerators, and more for residential customers

Additionally, Cal Water encourages customers to follow its easy dos and don’ts of water conservation.

DO:

• Check for broken sprinkler heads and hidden leaks once per month
• Install a Smart Irrigation Controller that automatically adjusts to weather conditions
• Check if your lawn is thirsty before watering
• Repair leaks within five days of notification

DON’T:

• Use water on outdoor landscaping that causes runoff onto adjacent properties or paved areas
• Use a hose to wash vehicles unless the hose has a shutoff nozzle or similar device
• Irrigate outdoors between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., unless local ordinances state otherwise
• Use water in a fountain or other decorative water feature, except where part of a recirculating system

Cal Water is here to help our customers save water every day. Program details and additional information can be found on calwater.com/conservation.  The utility will continue to monitor conditions in the Bayshore District and implement any additional actions based on ongoing supply and demand assessments, according to Moilan.

Cal Water’s Bayshore District serves approximately 200,800 people through 73,500 service connections in San Carlos, San Mateo, and South San Francisco and about 2 million people through 492,600 service connections in California. The utility has provided water service in the area since 1931. Additional information may be obtained online at www.calwater.com.