Pine Cove Water District: Frugal Friday

Friday, March 25, 2011

Frugal Friday

Even though the weather is rainy, foggy and cold today, I decided to post a Frugal Friday garden tip anyway!
I have been looking through some gardening blogs this past week for some inspiration. Wow, there a lot of fabulous gardeners across our country. There are more blogs than I could ever read and they are extremely inspirational. And even though I can't even see my garden right now due to the 3 feet of snow that is covering it, it is still fun to plan ahead. Next week promises spring like temperatures so perhaps we will be able to get out and start gardening sometime next week.

It never fails to amaze me at the amazing ways people find to re-purpose items. Yes, we have all seen people plant flowers in old boots or old sinks and things along those lines, but when I was over at Garden Fresh Living yesterday, I took the time to watch some of the videos that Theresa Loe, the owner of the blog and the Associate Producer of the PBS show Growing a Greener World, has posted. You can actually watch the shows from her blog and so I decided to watch the one that featured her garden on less than 1/5th of an acre in Los Angeles. Since I too live on about 1/5th of an acre, I am always very interested in seeing how other people create sustainable gardens in such a small space.

Her garden is a lovely cottage style garden and has a mix of flowers and vegetables and she even has a chicken coop with several backyard chickens. A girl after my own heart! While she has a lot of re-purposed items throughout her entire garden, the one thing that really caught my eye, was the old glass doorknobs that she had attached to the top of metal pipes and put into the ground to use as a hose guards. I thought that was very clever and I am definitely going to use that tip in my garden this summer. How many times have you smashed down a plant when the hose got drug over it? I have done it plenty! Her re-purposed hose guards kept the hose out of the flower beds and they looked adorable as well. I am going to write to her and see if she will tell me how she attached the door knobs to the metal pipes. Perhaps you can find a piece of pipe that fits right into them. I am not sure. But I will be sure to let you all know.

I hope you will return often to our blog because as summer approaches because I will be posting lots of pictures of the projects I undertake here at the office, as well as at my home garden in hopes of helping and inspiring others here in Pine Cove to garden more. Ideas will include re-purposing items, water saving ideas, composting, mulch, plants that do well up here, natives and many other things along the way.

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FREE STUFF!

We have lots of things available for our customers, all free of charge. Stop by the district office to pick up yours today.

Saving Water Kit. These kits include a low flow shower head, a kitchen swivel aerator, 2 bathroom faucet aerators, toilet water saver, toilet leak detection tablets, flow meter bag and a water conservation wheel.

Blue bird houses made from recycled wood.

Wood chips to help retain moisture in your garden.

Here at the PCWD, we care about the environment and want to help our customers save water.

CURRENT REBATES

Effective 7/1/10, the District is offering a rebate program for the following items:

One half of the purchase price to a maximum on $100.00 per toilet, max of two toilets per household, for the purchase and installation of a 1.6 GPM or less, Low Flow Toilet.

$50.00 rebate for the purchase and installation of a High Efficiency/Front Loading washing machine.

$100.00 Rebate for the purchase and installation of an approved Hot Wter Recycling System, limit of 1 per household.

Smart Water Systems on outside watering an drip stystems, maximum of $150.00, decided on a case by case basis.

Rain Water Collection Systems, maximum of $150.00 decided on a case by case basis.

All rebates must be approved by the General manager and must include proof of purchase and installation and there will be no repeat rebates allowed for a minimum of 5 years. Within any fiscal year, the maximum total rebates is $250.00 per property.

Rebates for any commercial or multi-family units will be decided on a case by case basis and must be approved by the Board of Directors.

Please stop in the office to fill out the necessary paper work to receive your rebate.

Winterizing Tips

Every winter season, homeowners in mountain communities are at risk of the damage and expense caused by frozen pipes. However, just a few precatuions can greatly reduce your risk and may even help with your winter heating efficiency.

Disconnect and Drain-detaching hoses from outdoor faucets allows water to drain from the pipe.

Insulate-if you have pipelines in an unheated garage or cold crawl spaced under the house, wrap the water pipes before temperatures plummet. You can also puchase insulated covers for your outdoor faucets as well.

Turn off Water-turning your water off when you leave you mountain home is the most important thing you can do to prevent a leak or break.

Seal Off Vents, Cracks and Doors-winter winds whistling through overlooked openings can quickly freeze exposed water pipes.

By following these simple steps, you will be protecting yourself from a possible leak or broken pipe due to freezing.

Remember, all water that passes through the meter is the homeowner's responsibility, even if it is due to frozen or broken pipes.

Riverside County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

The Pine Cove Water District is participating in Riverside County's Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. They are currently in the process of updating it and we have been trying to do our part. We have been nominated as a possible site for an Emergency Operations Center should a diaster befall us. We will be making updates here on the blog and our website so that we can keep the public informed as to our progress and plans. It is our hope that our preparations are never put to the test, but we want to be prepared, just in case.

Pine Cove Water District Welcomes You!

It is our mission to provide ample amounts of potable water at a reasonable price to all constituents within the Pine Cove area.

As a water district in a small community, we here at the Pine Cove Water District feel a special connection with our customers. We want our customers to be informed and in addition to our website and our semi annual newsletters, we have created this blog to keep everyone up to date on the latest happenings here at the Pine Cove Water District.

We hope you will check in often and feel free to leave your comments and suggestions.

Rules for Watering your Landscape

1. Get to know your plants signal for water: All plants and trees have different water requirements. The time to water is when the plants need it. Adjust your watering schedule and automatic timers for cooler, wetter or windy weather.

2. Split your watering time and prevent runoff: If water runs off instead of soaking in, split the water time into two sessions to allow the soil to absorb the water. Amend your soil to improve the water holding capacity of your soil.Watering half the time, twice as often will help water stay in the root zone.

3. Train your plants to develop deep roots: Water thoroughly, but infrequently. Make sure that plants are deep watered in the spring so they will develop deep roots and need less water in the summer. Deeper roots allow plants to use moisture deep in the ground. Plants will be healthier and stronger.

4. Avoid watering on windy days: When you water on windy days (a breeze stronger than 5 to 7 miles per hour), much of the water evaporates or blows away.

5. Avoid watering in the middle of the day: Morning is the best time to water because it helps prevent the growth of fungus. Also by watering in the cool part of the day, more water soaks in instead of evaporating.

6. Turn off your irrigation system when it rains: Don't waste water by watering plants in the rain. Rain sensors are available if you aren't home to to turn them off.

7. Mulch around trees and shrubs: Mulching discourages weeds and slows evaporation when you water your plants.

8. Keep your soil in shape: Soil amendments such as compost can benefit your plants both by providing nutrients and by changing the composition of the soil so it holds water better. Improving your soil needs to be done regularly, including the areas around existing plants and shrubs.

9. Maintain your watering system: Broken sprinkler heads spew water that doesn't benefit your plants. Replace old or worn irrigation fixtures. Hoses, couplings, valves and fauceets that leak not only create large puddles, but waste water and your money.

10. Choose the right plants: Take a plants water and sun needs into consideration before adding it to you landscape. Look for drought tolerant plants with low water needs.