Helix Water District Uses GIS to Establish Irrigation Water Budgets

From Alliance for Water Efficency
The digital age is helping the Helix Water District in La Mesa, CA (near San Diego) target water conservation. Water conservation specialist Jeff Barnes uses satellite images and a geographic information system (GIS) to find out where water is being used outdoors.

Using an infrared layer overlayed on a satellite photo, Barns can determine how much solar radiation bounces off any parcel. Different plants -- grass, shrubs, trees -- reflect different amounts of infrared.

"We can see the bulk of the water use is right here, this turf area," Barnes said, pointing at a blood red patch. "Over here is a lighter shade of red. It's probably shrubs." The GIS is also linked to the Helix water billing database which enables Barnes to quickly pull up the consumption history for any parcel or interest.

A $380,000 program developed by the San Diego County Water Authority and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation tells Barnes how much landscaping is present at every parcel in the Helix district have, down to the square foot. The program uses the climate zone each parcel sits in along with the landscape area to estimate a reasonable water budget to meet annual landscape water needs. This “theoretical irrigation requirement” can then be compared against actual outdoor consumption at the site to determine if a utility sponsored water conservation intervention makes sense.

In the coming months, all Helix customers with dedicated irrigation meters will receive notices containing water budget and usage information for their property. Helix hopes this guideline will help people understand not only how much water they use, but how much they should be using.
Read more about the Helix water budget program here.

Water is Cheap. Why should we conserve it?

 

Hey there, let's take a brief look at the bigger picture for San Diegan's water relationship. Look at some facts I've posted and remember this: San Diego could be a ground zero for water conservation in California just by our location in the State.
Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is readily accessible for direct human use.
The United Nations has estimated that by 2015 at least 40% of the world's population will lack an adequate supply of water. Even now, one person in five does not have access to safe drinking water.
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Northern California supplies some one-third of Southern California's fresh water supply, and delivers irrigation water to farmers on a massive scale. First constructed in the 1870s, a catastrophic levee failure due to a major earthquake and/or flooding could inundate more than 3 million acres of farmland and cut water supply to millions of Californians for years after.
April 2009 California's two longest rivers have been named the Nation’s Most endangered waterways because of outdated water management and poor flood planning. Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers collapse could endanger the water supply of 25 million Californians, flood the state's capital, and damage the delicate freshwater delta where the two rivers twine. San Diego gets about two-thirds of its water supply from the Colorado River more-than anywhere else. The river gets more than 400,000 gallons of treated waste water discharged into it each day.
California’s drinking water infrastructure needs an investment of at least $27.87 billion over the next 20 years - up from an estimated 17.5 billion in 04. (You’re paying $3.00 for 750 gallons or 1 unit of potable water and you're bitching...)
California has $18.17 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs. (You think your sewer fees are too high now, just wait to see what’s coming next)
At least 36 states in the U.S. are projecting water shortages between now and 2013.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year.

This is just the "tip of the iceberg," so to speak...

This blog is dedicated to those who wish to conserve water through safe and innovative products and practices that will have a "Positive" impact for change.

My name is Kevin and I am an eco innovation consultant / designer. I live in San Diego's North County. If you're interested in cutting your water use indoors and outdoors, saving money, and saving water, then follow my posts.
I will provide you with pertinent information ranging from greywater solutions to innovative products and applications now available in our area as well as eco-friendly practices that you may find interesting. I will be providing reviews of innovative products that you're going to want from manufacturers around the world
I started reaching out around the globe to innovators that struggle with similar or worse drought conditions than we are beginning to experience in the USA. Many of the companies I started contacting are usually very optimistic and are excited to share their wisdom and experience, and usually they are more than happy to provide me with a demo unit of some of their products in exchange for a review.
I usually integrate these items with customized installations or consultations that I provide my clients. That way, I get hands on experience with their products. I have been impressed with several of the products so far that provide various greywater and rainwater harvesting solutions coming from abroad. That's another posting....
What I encourage you to consider is this: environmental solutions and methods of conservation are dependent upon many variables and should be practiced with common sense and practicality.
I also advise you that there are a host of greywater products available that look really cool and sound like the best thing since bubble gum but are poorly designed. They are also most often being marketed by entrepreneurs and businessmen without a lick of understanding about greywater or California State laws, etc.. They just want to sell you a "green solution quick fix" that ultimately ends up being a failure and a pain in your ass and pocketbook! Buyers beware...

Example: I just Googled Greywater and was presented with 716,000 results in .49 seconds - 249,000 for Greywater products.
We have many options for being eco-supportive, reasonably sustainable, and environmentally responsible and there are quite a few excellent products available here in the U.S. that can provide a safe and responsible means of conserving water at your home if installed correctly.
If you're not sure how to get where you want to go, then find someone that specializes in that field who can help you.
My next blog will cover greywater in greater detail, and a few other surprises... Talk with you later. -K the Water Wise Guy