The Eastern Municipal Water District started its Landscapes for Living Program during the COVID pandemic, when residents were home more and spending more time with their yards.
The program lets residents save money and water while creating beautiful drought-resistant landscapes. The utility makes it as easy as 1-2-3: they just visit the district website, choose a contractor to help with the redesign and start saving.
Easy peasy
The district provides water (86 mgd), wastewater treatment (43 mgd) and recycled water to nearly one million people in a 558-square-mile service area in western Riverside County. Utility staff members created the landscape program to promote outdoor water efficiency through expanded services under a single umbrella.
The district at first offered device rebates to promote water efficiency, but the residents wanted more, including help with landscape plans and recommended contractors to help them transform their yards. In 2021, during the pandemic, the team created tutorial videos to show contractors how to create water-efficient landscapes.
The program is promoted through the district’s website, print and electronic newsletters, social media, print and electronic advertising, and flyers provided at events. When residents transform their yards, neighbors often ask questions, and the program spreads through word of mouth.
Rules of engagement
“Transforming a yard can be a big project to undertake if you don’t have help,” says Jennifer Shimmin, director of water use efficiency for EMWD. “That’s why we created the program in three easy steps.”
Using the website (www.emwd.org/landscapes-living), residents apply for a free landscape evaluation and sign up for a free weather-based irrigation smart controller. Once they are approved, a contractor visits the yard for a survey to help create a plan and to install the controller. Residents then download the controller application on a smartphone or laptop.
After the plan is set up, residents can work with a featured contractor or plant the water-saving vegetation themselves. Rebates for turf removal are available, and contractors can assist with that. Before and after pictures are required for the rebate. Turf has to be removed before the water-efficient landscape can be created and installed.
For the do-it-yourselfers, the district has online instructional videos and a demonstration garden at the utility’s office for residents to view. “Historically, we held in-person workshops for residents who want to transform their yards or learn about it,” Shimmin says. “Because of the pandemic we stopped those, but we plan on starting them up again soon.”
A list of water-efficient plants, perennials and succulents is available for six basic designs:
- Succulent garden
- English garden
- California native garden
- Japanese garden
- Mediterranean low-maintenance garden
- Modern desert garden
Residents can choose the design that best fits their preference, lifestyle, house style and yard shape. The designs are family-, child- and pet-friendly. Recommended plants are listed on the website.
Rewarding experience
Customers who transform their yards can compete in a landscape contest within the Inland Empire region in the district’s service area. Pictures of the landscapes are judged by a panel of landscape architects and sponsors.
About 10 entries receive rewards of $500; they are then entered in a social media competition known as the People’s Choice campaign sponsored by Inland Empire Magazine. The winner is featured in the publication. The next landscape contest will be held in spring 2024.
Besides being popular with residents, the program was recognized for excellence in 2022 by California Association of Public Information Officials. It also received an Excellence in Public Information and Communications Award from CAPIO for the Landscape for Living microsite.
Feedback from residents includes praise for the ease and professionalism of working with contractors, accolades for district leadership in helping residents save water and money, and for the ease of going digital. “We are very focused on being a steward of water efficiency,” says Shimmin. “This program is just one component of how we are doing that.”
