County of Ventura’s Water Conservation Efforts Saves Millions of Gallons

Water conservation practices just became mandatory in the state, but some of our local areas have been trying to do their part long before the restrictions were put in place.

The County of Ventura has looked both inside its buildings as well as outside to save water, and it has worked; each month the county is saving millions of gallons of water at its properties.

Conserving water is nothing new for the county. The county has been actively working on it for several years.

“Our buildings here were built in the late 70s which means that the fixtures that were put in here when it was built are not that efficient. So we have been, slowly, steadily replacing them,” said Ventura County General Services Agency Director Paul Grossgold.

The Ventura County Government Center used to have four running fountains, but now they operate only two. One is broken and is currently a dry fountain that will soon be torn down. The other has been turned into a drought-tolerant planter box.

“We recirculate the water so it’s really just whatever the evaporation is that we have to replace and they really only operate 1 to 2 hours a day,” said Grossgold

When it comes to landscaping, the County of Ventura has made some big changes as well, even using a special weather station to decide when and if the landscaping needs watering.

“That station measures humidity, rainfall, and it only waters when the ground needs water but we have even reduced beyond what the system is calling for. So we really reduced our watering really close to zero,” said Grossgold.

Some area around the Ventura County Government Center are turning brown or even dying.

The County of Ventura, has also replaced many grassy areas with drought-tolerant plantings, mulch, and even a demonstration garden using artificial grass.

For more information on how you can conserve water as well, click here.