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Hey Arizonans! Do you reside in the City of Peoria? Did you know that you can take advantage of such things as rebates on High-Efficiency Toilets, Irrigation Controllers, Hot Water Recirculators and Xeriscape landscaping? Talk about savings for you and for the environment!

Watch this interview by Andy Lombardo, one of our Regional Water Partners from the City of Peoria, to learn more about those rebates and other things you can do to conserve water inside and outside of the home.

Before the heat sets in, don’t forget Water Saving Tip #41: Remember to check your sprinkler system valves periodically for leaks and keep the heads in good shape.

Thankfully, the Town of Queen Creek has a class that will help you identify water wasting problems in your drip irrigation system! Join them Saturday, April 14^th, 9am – 12pm at the Queen Creek Library/Zane Grey Room, 21802 S. Ellsworth Rd., Queen Creek.

This workshop is free to Queen Creek residents, but you must register. Email connie.speelman@queencreek.org or call the water conservation office at 480-358-3455.

The Town of Queen Creek is one of fifteen Water – Use It Wisely regional partners, many of whom offer water-wise workshops. Check out all of the partner programs at the Water – Use It Wisely calendar on our home page.

Did you know Water Awareness Month is coming up? For the month of April, stay tuned to this interactive calendar at waterawarenessmonth.com for ways to save water and plenty of links and resources!

Our very own Donna DiFrancesco, Conservation Specialist from the City of Mesa, was featured in April’s Phoenix Home and Garden magazine giving some information about what people can do for Water Awareness Month! Check it out!

Dave Mohan is ready to fix some leaks with his prizes that also included a Lowe’s gift card.

Ten year old Dave Mohan from Phoenix shows off his winning prizes including a pipe wrench and a medal at Saturday’s Fix a Leak Week. He won 2^nd place in his age group. Dave attributes his winning to good training, healthy eating and the lucky temporary tattoo he received at the Water – Use It Wisely booth prior to the race (OK, we might have added that last part).

Water – Use It Wisely passed out goodie bags to all participants who attended the race and family festival at the March 10th event.

If you missed the race, there’s still plenty of time to celebrate Fix a Leak Week which officially runs from March 12 – 18. This special week challenges homeowners and businesses to take steps to identify and repair leaks that waste water and money.

Then again, who needs a special week? It’s important to fix leaks anytime you discover one… which reminds me of Water Saving Device #89, YOUR EARS! Listen for dripping faucets and running toilets. Fixing a leak can save 300 gallons a month or more.

Be sure to learn about our other 100+ ways to conserve water.

Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, more than 10,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks?

Fix a Leak Week will be celebrated across the nation March 12-18, but you can join the chase at our kickoff event here in Arizona by registering for “One for Water” 4-Miler on Saturday March 10.

This fun local race was created to raise awareness for fixing leaks and encouraging water efficiency in our homes, landscapes and businesses. Leaky “Loo” McFlapper, the event’s life-sized running toilet mascot, is a 6′ tall reminder that running toilets are only funny when they are mascots. Race organizers, sponsors and volunteers do take fixing leaks seriously and hope that you will join them at this truly one-of-a-kind event.

The “One for Water” 4-Miler takes off at the City of Peoria’s Rio Vista Community Park on March 10^th at 8 a.m. Registration opens at 7 a.m. The park is located at 8866 West Thunderbird Road, Peoria, AZ. We will have great prizes for the race medalists, thanks to our generous sponsors. Also available are prize drawings for people who pledge to find and fix leaks, so you don’t even have to be a runner to have the chance to win.

Last year, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA) was selected as the national spotlight for the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense Fix a Leak Week for the race and other activities.

AMWUA is one of fifteen Water – Use It Wisely regional partners that offer water-wise programs and opportunities. Check out all of the partner programs at the Water – Use It Wisely calendar on our home page.

At Water – Use It Wisely, we are proud to see that our website is the top-ranked site for popular search terms such as “water conservation” and “water saving tips,” but did you know that a single query on Google consumes a tenth of a teaspoon of water?

Image courtesy of Argonne National Library

Just when you thought that saving water was as easy as turning off the water when brushing your teeth, experts are trying to get another point across to consumers… saving energy can also save water! The electrical power industry is one of the largest users of water in the United States. However, we can’t forget that the opposite is true too… that the delivery and treatment of water also consumes a lot of energy (see Arizona examples below).

This estimate of water use for data centers such as Google is noted by Liew Yien Phin, from Black & Veatch, a global environmental engineering firm. Check out his fascinating blog, The Nexus of Water and Energy, where he discusses the serious implications of this relationship.

Perhaps Water – Use It Wisely should add a new water saving device to our lineup…. Water Saving Device # 113, A Dictionary. Next time you need the definition of a word pull your dictionary off the shelf instead and save a tenth of a teaspoon of water every time. But since you’re already on our page, be sure to learn about our other 100+ ways to conserve water.

Arizona Examples of the Water – Energy Nexus

Water Needed for Energy: Did you know that our local Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station uses 50 to 80 million gallons of water each day to meet its cooling needs? Fortunately, almost all of it is effluent (treated sewage) from several nearby municipalities.

Energy Needed for Water: Have you followed the controversy of the Navajo Generating Station coal-fired plant in northern Arizona? The EPA and conservationists are concerned about environmental impacts from emissions, especially since the plant is located near National Parks, monuments and wilderness areas. Power from the plant is needed to deliver Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project system that delivers the water to the state’s more populated areas.

You can promote your own contribution to smart water use and management by advertising on WaterUseItWisely.com, the number one water conservation website on the internet. If you’re interested in being a guest blogger, contact us.

It’s Springtime in Arizona! Salt River Project (SRP) is hosting a Free Water Conservation Expo at which you can learn about saving water, money and how to irrigate your lawn and landscape correctly for the upcoming warmer months.

Visit the expo and get a 4-station smart irrigation controller (expandable to 13 stations) for $50 plus tax (retail value $290). Three-station expansion modules are available for $17.55 plus tax (retail value $55). The discount is limited to the first 500 SRP water shareholders or power customers who register and attend the expo. The first 500 customers who attend a controller installation class at the expo will receive a water-saving showerhead ($39 value). Limit one controller and showerhead per household.

Date and time of expo: Saturday, March 3, 2012, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: SRP’s PERA Club, 1 E. Continental Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281
View map of PERA or get driving directions to PERA

If you plan to attend the expo or classes, please register using our online form, or call SRP at (602) 236-3333.

See you there!

SRP is one of fifteen Water – Use It Wisely regional partners, many of whom offer water-wise programs and opportunities. Check out all of the partner programs at the Water – Use It Wisely calendar on our home page.

Ah, spring in the Desert Southwest… beautiful, sunny, seventy-five degree days. It’s perfect weather for gardening, but it’s also an especially good time for some irrigation system maintenance. Irrigation problems are not always apparent between the cool nighttime temperatures, the periodic cloudy days and even the occasional sprinkle of rain. So don’t wait until the heat sets in. Check out our Irrigation Maintenance Checklist to get your system in tip-top shape just in time for summer’s sizzle.

After making any drip irrigation repairs, flush out the line for about a minute. Do this by removing the end cap at the end of the poly line. Yours might have a figure 8 end fitting that kinks the poly line - just slip it off and unkink.

Water – Use It Wisely offers all kinds of landscape advice to help you save water and money. Here’s just a sample:

• Learn how to properly water your plants to keep them healthy and beautiful in Landscape Watering by the Numbers.
• Learn how to program your irrigation controller on our Timing is Everything page.
• Find out about free booklets and guides available online or from your local water provider.
• Sign up for a monthly watering reminder email that guides you on how much and how often to water.

The City of Mesa is one of fifteen Water – Use It Wisely regional partners who offer assistance with saving water. Many even offer rebates on toilets, desert landscaping and more.

Smartscape offers green jobs training at affordable price, helps professionals stay on leading edge of landscape industry saving clients water, money, and time

In a tough economy, one way to stay ahead of the competition is to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, research, and practices in the industry for which you work. For the landscaping business, this is especially true. As the housing market remains stalled, new landscape installations and maintenance accounts are often hard to come by, and competition for customers is fierce. Therefore, programs that provide continuing education and training—especially at an affordable price—are all the more important and relevant for businesses today.

Enter Smartscape: A training program for landscape professionals
Sponsored by the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (a Water – Use It Wisely partner) and the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County, Smartscape is a green jobs training program providing 20 hours of instruction on the proper irrigation and care for water-efficient landscapes in the Sonoran Desert.

Over the eight Smartscape sessions, instructors from the University of Arizona, municipal water departments, and the landscape industry present the latest research-based information regarding sustainable landscaping practices.

“We find the Smartscape program provides the updated training our employees need to keep our customers informed, as well as keeping us leaps and bounds ahead of the competition,” states Jill Gilbert, Customer Relations Manager for AZ Royal Landscaping and Design.

Smartscape professionals promote sustainable practices
Instruction on sustainable landscaping practices can help companies cut back on clients’ water use, where up to 70% of a residential water bill is devoted to outdoor uses such as landscapes and pools. By helping reduce outdoor water consumption, Smartscape graduates help homeowners save where it counts—in their wallet.

In addition, Smartscape attendees are trained on the fundamentals of designing, installing, and maintaining low-water-use landscapes compatible with our desert environment. Using landscape plants that are adapted to the climate and soils of the Sonoran Desert can make for a lower maintenance yard, which saves clients valuable time and energy.

“Smartscape is a comprehensive program, packed with useful information, taught by an all-star team of Valley landscape professionals, in a format anyone can understand, and built around our typical work schedule,” says Bryan Wallace, Vice President of Operations at Victor’s Landscaping Inc. and a Smartscape Certified Professional.

Online directory connects graduates to customers
To help Smartscape professionals market their training, graduates have the option to be included in the Smartscape Certified Professional Online Directory, found at http://www.amwua.org/ss_directory.html. The Online Directory allows homeowners to find a Smartscape Certified Professional in their area. As more homeowners want to save money and time in their yard, businesses and individuals who market their Smartscape training have another “leg up” on the competition.

Next class starts this month
The next Smartscape course will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3:30-6:00 P.M., January 23- February 15, 2012. All classes will be held at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County, 4341 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85040. The registration fee for the entire series is $75.00. Please contact Haley Paul at smartscape@cals.arizona.edu or (602) 827-8200 x395 if you are a landscape professional interested in taking the course or sending your employees to the course. Also visit the Smartscape website to download and print a registration flyer: http://extension.arizona.edu/maricopa/smartscape-program.

Find Smartscape on Facebookand Twitter too!

From time to time, WUIW features guest bloggers who write about water conservation and education. Haley Paul is our guest blogger this week. Smartscape is co-sponsored by AMWUA, a WUIW partner.

Water – Use It Wisely partners were pleased to see a Jan. 1, 2012 opinion piece in The Arizona Republic that included a challenge to look at our Arizona assets and figure out how to maximize them for the New Year. The list includes our “water supplies” and our “striking desert plants” amongst many of our other great Arizona resources. We couldn’t agree more! Check out our Water Saving Tip #61. Did you know that each low-water-use plant can save you up to 550 gallons a year?

Hundreds of desert plants are available for just about any function in your landscape. Would you like to attract birds or butterflies to your yard? Desert plants are up for the challenge! Perhaps you are looking for year-round color, or how about a living fence or a cool, shady retreat? And desert plants not only save water, a precious Arizona resource, they have special characteristics that help them thrive in our tough desert conditions including heat, alkaline soils and even winter frost.

The Water – Use It Wisely site is filled with plant details including plant selection ideas, plant care and watering details. And if you have a water-thirsty landscape, we’ll tell you how to remove grass and install a water-saving, colorful, thriving Xeriscape instead. After all, there are a number of ways to save water and they all start with you. Water. Use It Wisely.