City of San Diego is offering generous rebates for Smart Irrigation Controllers like Cyber-Rain. All the information relating to guidelines and applying can be found here:

http://www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/smartcontroller.shtml

Between rebates and water savings, Cyber-Rain can be free!  Some information from the site:

“Costs that are covered by the Smart Controller rebate:

Rebate covers the purchase price of one SWAT approved Smart Controller up to a maximum of $400 per address. If a landscape professional installs Smart Controller, the device and installation costs can be rebated up to a maximum of $400 (up to $200 of the $400 can be used to rebate a landscape professional’s installation fee).”

Do you have questions about the Cyber-Rain system and its uses? We’d love to hear them!

Each week, we try to offer a Question of the Week, addressing a frequently asked question about the Cyber-Rain system, or ways in which the Cyber-Rain system can help save a significant amount of water every year. You can view previously asked questions here.

Send your questions to 4cyberrain@gmail.com.

We look forward to answering your questions, and invite you to become a part of the water-saving dialog!

Happy Thanksgiving from Cyber-Rain! Wishing you and your family a happy and fulfilling holiday.

Who doesn’t like to save money? And who doesn’t like to save money and do something good for the environment? Many individuals have already reserved their rebate from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Save a Buck and SoCal Water$mart programs, courtesy of the MWD. The MWD has been offering free rebates to those consumers who have purchased water-savvy appliances and devices, such as smart irrigation controllers and high-efficiency clothes washers.

So Cal residents, get those MWD rebates! (Photo courtesy of MWD)

As of November 17, only about 40% of the total available rebates were still available. The MWD re-launched the rebate reservation program on September 21, and less than two months later, the rebates are more than half gone! The program is slated to run through May 2010 “or until funds are depleted,” and at this rate, said funds may not last until then!

The rebates which residential customers can claim are roughly divided into two categories: landscape and high-efficiency. For example, a homeowner who purchased a smart sprinkler controller such as Cyber-Rain would be eligible to apply for a landscape rebate, while a homeowner who purchased a more efficient dishwasher would apply for a high-efficiency rebate. In order to successfully reserve and receive a rebate, a consumer must mail a completed rebate application, a sales receipt for the item and a copy of their latest water bill within 45 days of purchase. It is wise to start conserving now, for if California legislators have their way, in just over 10 years, all residents will be expected to cut water use by 20%. If that is the case, now is a great time to start thinking of ways to conserve, and why not conserve when you get a financial incentive?

The pain of the California drought may soon lessen, thanks to the recent passage of five water bills. Senate Bills 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8 address the three-year statewide drought and ways in which water usage and management can be addressed and improved. The name of the game is infrastructure organization and more conservative water use restrictions in the long run.

As mentioned previously on the Cyber-Rain blog, the bills cover both general water use and the ways in which oversight will be put into place for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which has proven to be a bone of contention for many California water users, not least of which were many frustrated farmers who saw their water use cut dramatically as a result of both the drought and the fight over the Delta smelt. The delta comes up in more than half of the bills presented. The bills recommend the creation and empowering of various monitoring bodies and positions in the hope of fixing the current problems associated with the delta, including the creation of the Delta Conservancy and the Delta Stewardship Council and granting more powers  to the State Water Resources Control Board. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently approved all of the bills. If all goes according to plan, over $11 billion could go toward updating the state’s water infrastructure, and “urban” water users will be mandated to cut down their annual water use by 20%, by 2020.

This is one step that many hope will act as a mitigating factor in the harsh drought conditions now faced by many California residents. Across the nation, other states (including Nevada, Arizona and Florida) have had to deal with localized droughts as well. You can help lessen the effects of the drought by conserving water on a daily basis. Every action ultimately makes a difference: so the next time you have the choice between walking by a water-wasting problem (such as a leaky faucet or broken sprinkler) or fixing it, fix it!

Q:  I don’t know how long I should be watering my lawn. Can Cyber-Rain help?

A:  Good news!  Cyber-Rain not only adjusts watering times with changes in the weather, but can also help you set a water-wise irrigation schedule customized to your yard.  As you are installing Cyber-Rain, the Smart Scheduling Wizard helps you describe each of your sprinkler zones.  Cyber-Rain uses pictures so that you can pick the type of sprinkler, plants, soil, sun exposure and slope that best describes your yard.  And Voila! Cyber-Rain has combined your descriptions with detailed weather information for YOUR zip code and filled in suggested watering times for you.

And these suggested watering times are completely customized! If you indicated that you are only allowed to water three days/week, Cyber-Rain schedules watering for only those days. And if you told Cyber-Rain that you have a hill in your back yard, Cyber-Rain will water the plants on that hill for a short time, switch to other zones to let the water soak in, and then come back to water some more. Cyber-Rain takes care of these details so that you don’t have to. So yes, the Cyber-Rain smart sprinkler controller is the perfect tool for both watering and offering landscaping information!

Great news: water use among Americans as a whole is decreasing! In a new study released by the United States Geological Survey, results show a trend of lowered water use, particularly within the last 30 years. According to the Associated Press, the report explains that “Americans are using less water per person now than they have since the mid-1950s, thanks to water-saving technologies and a nationwide push to safeguard dwindling supplies.”

This is very welcome news, and provides hope for all individuals concerned about the environment and living more sustainably. Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Anne Castle, of the Department of the Interior, explained that one of the main reasons this water trend is appearing is because of “the increased use of more efficient irrigation systems.” According to Castle, 410 billion gallons of water are used every day by Americans, and 31 percent of that is used for irrigation.

The Cyber-Rain system is one powerful water conservation tool to consider when irrigating. The Cyber-Rain system has been shown to save up to 40% of residential water use per year. Tools such as the Cyber-Rain system are a major part of why so many individuals are carefully conserving water today. So take care of that precious resource, and find out how you can conserve water each day! Easy tips are available through BeWaterWise, SoCal Water$mart and through your local water district.

Between the three-year-long drought and the dismal state of the economy, it’s no surprise that many governmental agencies have looked toward raising taxes and service rates. We’ve seen it across California: water providers have increased their water rates as their own supplies are cut by 10% or more. As demand for water is growing faster than the available supply of water, water rates will go up. City officials in California have also begun to call on their fellow residents to cut their water consumption by 10 to 20% to address the shortfall

This week in Texas, Oklahoma and California, city council members voted on measures to increase the cost of using water in their respective towns. In Little Elm, Texas, the average household’s water bill will rise by three percent, per the passage of a new ordinance, according to the Courier-Gazette. In Oklahoma, a Haines City ordinance was passed which allows for water rates to rise immediately by at least seven percent. It is expected that the rates will go even higher over the coming years.

Around Los Angeles County, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District warns customers that if the district uses more than its allotted water levels, “substantial penalties” could be passed on to users. The LVWD will be receiving about 4,600 fewer acre-feet of water this year from the Metropolitan Water District than it received in 2008 and so has instituted a new billing program. The LVMWD is a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). After 8 weeks under the new billing program, LVMWD stated that “30 percent [of customers] have exceeded their budgeted use in small to moderate amounts and some 15 percent have had substantial penalties added to their bills for excess use, in a few cases amounting to some individual bills carrying thousands of dollars in additional charges.”Whether or not you live in any of these towns, it is more than likely that if not now then at some point in the near future you will be faced with the need for conservation.

Whether or not your water rates have risen, there are many ways you can cut down on water use on a typical day. One great way is by monitoring your landscaping water use, which can be easily accomplished with the Cyber-Rain smart sprinkler controller.  Cyber-Rain can save up to 40% on water bills and typically pays for itself within a year!

Q: I would like to be more environmentally conscious and go green, but I also need to watch my expenditures.  Can I save more water and be more green with the Cyber-Rain system? Why should I really consider purchasing a Cyber-Rain system?

A: Before making any major purchase, it is wise to consider all the facts; consider these:

• See how much water you could be saving! The Cyber-Rain system saves up to 40% of a user’s water bill. This means you could be paying about 60% of your current annual water bill. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average homeowner dedicates 58% of their water to outside usage (landscapes), half of which is wasted. Find out how much you could be saving outside with the Cyber-Rain system (http://www.cyber-rain.com/Water/water.aspx). According to the EPA, 58% of a household’s water use is on landscape and garden so if you want to conserve water, start outside.

• Maybe you’re not the most ardent environmentalist, but do you care about staying green at home? Water is a scarce resource in many locations, and should be treated as a precious one. The Cyber-Rain system can also help you save money outside by keeping your plants healthy. Many people many not realize that many plants die of overwatering, not just underwatering!

• Many water districts are offering rebates to customers who purchase water-saving devices, such as Cyber-Rain. Your local water district may be offering financial incentives through programs such as SoCal Water$mart, which is offering a rebate program on water-saving home devices.

• Most Cyber-Rain users can tell you that the Cyber-Rain system pays for itself within a year. With rebates, it can be considerably less than that. So with Cyber-Rain you can be green AND save money.

In the short term, too, the savings from a Cyber-Rain system are irrefutable. By utilizing weather information and particular landscape needs, the Cyber-Rain smart sprinkler controller cuts down on water waste and can run your irrigation system to be a leaner, greener watering machine!

You may be surprised to find out that a popular perfume and lotion scent is also the name of a drought-tolerant plant! The juniper is this week’s Plant of the Week for its ability to tolerate dry and low-water conditions. Aside from its popularity as a feminine scent, the juniper has historically been prized for its ascribed medicinal use. A variety of juniper plants are known for the ability to survive and thrive under conditions of regular to sparse watering, including the common juniper and the Japanese garden juniper, according to North Carolina State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The various types of juniper can be anywhere from half a foot (less typical) to six to twelve feet (more usual) to higher than twenty feet tall (the tall tree varieties).

The term “drought-tolerant” is used to describe those plants, trees and shrubs which can adapt easily to conditions where there is often little excess water and plenty of sunshine. Did you know that by replacing more water-demanding plants with native/lower water-use plants, you can potentially save thousands of gallons of water each month? That can add up!

It is believed that there are at least 50 different kinds of identifiable varieties of juniper all over the globe on various continents. The juniper comes in a variety of colors, including gray and blue. The juniper berry is also prized for its pleasant smell. Find out if the juniper may be right for your garden by contacting your local water district, nursery or water conservation resource such as BeWaterWise.com.