ANAHEIM, CA (November 1, 2005) - In Southern California, as much as 60 percent of a typical family’s water consumption is used for watering lawns and outdoor landscaping. Much of this water is wasted through over-irrigation. Consequently, Anaheim Public Utilities urges customers to reduce water consumption for irrigation now that cooler weather and shorter daylight hours are here.

“Over-irrigation is the single biggest source of water waste,” said Cathy Templeton, water conservation specialist for Anaheim Public Utilities. “It not only depletes precious groundwater resources, but the resulting run-off contributes to pollution.”

One way to avoid overwatering is to upgrade sprinkler systems with automatic timers to new state-of-the-art systems with “smart” controllers. The new controllers can reduce outdoor water use by up to 25 percent by automatically adjusting irrigation according to the actual needs of the plants. The “smart” technology adjusts the watering cycles based on factors such as weather, moisture content of the soil wind speed, and the evapotranspiration rate (rate at which water transpires through leaves and plant tissues).

As a financial incentive to encourage water conservation, Anaheim Public Utilities works in partnership with other water agencies to offer its SmarTimer® Rebate Program. Effective through March 1, 2006, the incentive will be doubled to $40 per attached, operating valve for residential customers with single-family homes.

Incentives are also available to commercial customers and to homeowners associations. For information on the SmarTimer® Program, call 866/846-3725. Information about this and other programs, along with many water conservation tips, are available by visiting Anaheim Public Utilities Water Conservation Corner.