City of Palmdale & AVUHSD Exceed 20% Water Conservation in 2022 by Palmdale Water District Feb 7, 2023 Member Submitted News PALMDALE – Palmdale Water District (PWD) is pleased to announce that two of its top water users, the city of Palmdale and the Antelope Valley Union High School District (AVUHSD), reduced their water usage last year by more than the mandated 20% compared to 2020. The city, which cut back 22%, used 359 acre-feet of water in 2022 compared to 460 acre-feet two years earlier. Figures show AVUHSD’s water usage dropped from 350 acre-feet in 2020 to 276 acre-feet last year, representing a 21% reduction. An acre-foot of water is equal to about 326,000 gallons. Combined, they saved enough water to serve about 300 Palmdale households with four people for one year. “We would like to recognize and thank the city of Palmdale and the high school district for their cooperation and commitment to conserving water to help the community,” said PWD Board President Don Wilson. “They responded to our call for conservation and truly made an impact.” PWD began water conservation outreach in April 2021 before a statewide drought was declared. Both businesses and residential customers were asked to voluntarily start conserving 15% compared to their 2020 usage. One year later, the conservation mandate was increased to 20% and became mandatory due to the state’s severe drought. “We remain committed to using water wisely and are encouraged and delighted by the collaboration between stakeholders,” said Palmdale Mayor Laura Bettencourt. “Our staff worked passionately to make this accomplishment possible. We also thank our engaged residents for contributing to this achievement by reporting issues like vandalism, mechanical failures, and leaks so our staff could respond quickly.” Palmdale Park Superintendent Steven J. Montenegro said that trained Public Works maintenance staff applied lessons learned during previous drought cycles to manage the impact on the city’s urban forest. “Collaboration with PWD has been exemplary,” said Palmdale Landscape Superintendent Paul Wood. “We are committed to using water wisely and remain proactive in irrigation management. The team surveyed sites and reduced programs to meet the guidelines. We utilized central control to manage irrigation systems, adjusting programs based on daily weather data and recognizing excessive flow when there is a failure, ensuring repairs happen promptly. We are encouraged and very pleased to have met the reduction requirements.” Antelope Valley Union High School District Site Maintenance departments, along with Administration and Maintenance and Operations, surveyed their facilities to identify opportunities for water conservation. As a result, they made irrigation leak repairs, reduced watering days and times according to PWD guidelines, and removed turf to save water. “We recognize that community members are more likely to buy in to PWD’s water conservation plan if they see leaders like AVUHSD leading by example,” said AVUHSD Director of Maintenance Scott Fish. “We set a goal to meet water reduction requirements while maintaining safe athletic fields and minimizing adverse curb appeal. We met our goal and are pleased that we were able to meet Palmdale Water’s goals as well.” PWD Resource and Analytics Supervisor Claudia Bolanos said the city and school district were very receptive to working together to find ways to cut back water usage. She meets regularly with their representatives, and monthly water usage reports are sent to keep them informed. Because of the meetings and collaboration, PWD began offering commercial rebates, including ones for landscape conversion, weather-based irrigation controllers and moisture retaining soil additives. Both the city and the school district have taken advantage of the rebates. “The city and AVUHSD are doing an awesome job of conserving water,” Bolanos said. “We will continue working together to find ways to save. Conservation needs to continue no matter how much rain we get. It really is the way of life now.” Since 1918, the Palmdale Water District has provided high-quality water at a reasonable cost. We pride ourselves on providing great customer care; advocating for local water issues that help our residents; educating the community on water-use efficiency; and leading our region in researching and implementing emerging technologies that increase operational efficiency. For more information about PWD, visit www.palmdalewater.org. ###