With little rainfall and hot and dry summer months, the valley must carefully manage limited water supplies. So throughout the year, Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA) is asking all customers to rethink water consumption and to reduce water usage by 10 percent. Here are the top 10 easy ways you can conserve:

• Adjust your sprinklers. Up to 80 percent of residential water use goes to maintaining our yards. Is your irrigation system running every day? That’s too much! Try taking a day off the timer, preferably the same day the lawn is mowed, and watch the health of your yard improve.
• Check your system. Do a weekly check for broken or clogged sprinkler heads and replace them right away. Make sure you are watering your yard and not the driveway or sidewalk.
• Do you see water runoff from your yard each time you water? It could mean the lawn needs aeration. When you aerate your lawn, you give the water somewhere to go besides down the storm drain.
• Fix those leaks. A quarter gallon per minute leak, or just more than a drip, wastes over 10,000 gallons per month. A leaking flapper on a toilet also increases flows at the water treatment plant.
• Plant drought-tolerant plants. Many of the lawns and plants we use are not intended for the unique climate in the Santa Clarita Valley. Come visit the Conservatory Garden at 27234 Bouquet Canyon Road for Water Wise plant ideas that work well in the Valley.
• Use a broom instead of a hose. Sweeping up rather than hosing off leaves or grass clippings not only saves water, but putting them into a green yard waste recycling container saves landfill space as well.

Read more here: Water Conservation Tips

http://www.clwa.org/conservation/tips.cfm