Water District of the Week: Long Beach Water

This week's Spotlight is on...

This week’s Water District of the Week is the City of Long Beach Water Department . With a rich history, dating back nearly one hundred years ago, the CLBWD currently provides water services to 492,000 consumers, in one of the largest cities of the state. The CLBWD obtains water from both 26 wells within the city boundaries, and from the mammoth Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which has been encouraging water conservation as well.

The City of Long Beach Water Department offers a variety of water conservation rebates and free programs, to help teach consumers ways to save water, as the state experiences a drought and serious water crunch. The city offers numerous programs for conserving water in both the home and business, including rebate programs for water-smart devices, including sprinklers.

For the home, the H20Use interactive home guide is fun and informative, and explains (with detailed illustrations and diagrams) where consumers can save additional water, both inside the home and outside with irrigation systems. (You want to know how to save water in the kitchen, the laundry room and so forth? Check it out… it’s really neat.)

When encouraging consumers to save money, one suggestion is to purchase weather-based irrigation controllers, also known as “smart” sprinkler controllers (Cyber-Rain is one prominent example). According to the CLBWD, “A WBIC is the most convenient because it adjusts the controller based on signals from an external source, such as a micro-weather station at your home, a satellite feed, or internet connection.  WBICs can be water-efficient if installed and programmed correctly; when installed or programmed incorrectly they may result in higher water use.” An effectives WBIC also can help cut down on that “about 50% to 70% of… water used at the average home” which is typically used for landscaping purposes.

This water district also encourages positive change through education and informative contests. According to the city CLBWD, “education and public outreach are designed to promote long-term changes in customer attitudes and behaviors affecting water use efficiency.”

The district also offers a conservation garden for touring, and encourages consumers to consider planting native plants and flowers which typically use less water and are more drought-tolerant. The program is called Beautiful Long Beach Landscape, and is defined as “an alternative to water-thirsty lawns.” Some of the defining characteristics of the BLBL include less water use, “little to no runoff” and a low maintenance environment. The water district also offers ideas for what to plant in a Long Beach garden.

For these and many other reasons, the City of Long Beach Water Department is this week’s Water District of the Week.