WATER CONSERVATION CEAL Meeting May 6, 2015

Goals  Manage water usage responsibly and efficiently;  Use recycled water when possible;  Create sustainable landscapes on highway roadsides and  Exceed state and local conservation conformity measures.

Manage Water Usage  Reduced irrigation frequencies and water at nighttime only;  Replaced and upgraded irrigation controllers to “smart” technology controllers;  Improved irrigation practices by maintenance forces and construction contractors to more closely monitor and repair irrigation breaks;  Replaced inefficient sprinkler heads and ineffective automatic remote control valves;  Replaced faucets, urinals and toilets with more efficient, low water- flow systems at maintenance stations and roadside rest areas;  Utilize native and drought-tolerant plants to reduce long-term water usage and maintenance;

Recycled Water  Caltrans uses recycled water where it is provided by its water suppliers. It continues to work with suppliers to expand the network of recycled water lines.  Plans for recycled water use include installing lines to segments of Interstate 5 North Coast and State Route 56. And to expand recycled water use in the southern part of the county as projects develop on I-5, Interstate 805 and State Route 905.

Mitigation Sites  Caltrans, as part of project development, must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Endangered Species Act, and the California Coastal Act.  As part of this process, environmental permitting agencies may require Caltrans and its partners to build or store wetlands and other habitats as environmental mitigation for the construction of transportation projects. These sites require irrigation to establish habitats.  Caltrans complies with its commitments to mitigate those impacts. Sometimes the mitigation may create impacts of its own, such as irrigation, and the department balances this need with water reductions in other areas.

Exceed State and Local Conservation Goals  District 11 was the first District to create a Water Manager position over 15 years ago to manage irrigation assets;  Employed the use of Remote Irrigation Control System (RICS) to schedule, monitor, control, manage irrigation systems;  Employed “smart” controllers to improve irrigation efficiencies to water plants as needed considering soil moisture, plant palette, evapotranspiration, weather, sprinkler capacity;  Incorporated flow sensors for automatic water shut-off when flow rates exceed thresholds; addresses broken heads, line breaks, etc.;  RICS also gathers and stores usage data for tracking and comparison purposes;

Exceed State and Local Conservation Goals  District 11 Roadside Sustainability Business Practice  Addresses water use, including State Conservation Goals, Regional Water Authority Restrictions, and costs.  Addresses worker safety issues including exposure to traffic, and maintenance impacts including staff, equipment and material resources.  Emphasizes tiered system to evaluate water usage and plant selection to bring landscape designs in alignment with water conservation efforts. Category 1 - Landscape with no permanent irrigation; Category 2 – Transitional landscape with limited irrigation;

Exceed State and Local Conservation Goals

How you can help?  Motorists and residents are encouraged to report broken highway sprinklers, over spray, pooling water, or other water system failures to the Caltrans Public Information Office at (619)  They may also fill out a maintenance service request online at 

Questions