News

At its August 19 meeting, Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Board of Directors recognized Peter Hevezi as OMWD’s winner of the annual WaterSmart Landscape Contest.

Mr. Hevezi’s landscape uses various water-wise plants and materials. Wood chips, gravel, and decorative rocks conserve water by reducing evaporation. Mr. Hevezi also installed drip irrigation, high-efficiency sprinklers, and two rain barrels.

Annual water use for the property is nearly 40 percent less than OMWD’s average residential customer.

“When we moved from Northern California to San Diego in 2003, we quickly realized that rainfall here was much lower than we were used to,” said Mr. Hevezi. “With almost a quarter-acre of backyard that was mostly grass, we were using a lot of water. We decided to replace all of the grass with California native plants, succulents, and drought-tolerant trees.”

“Landscape transformations like Mr. Hevezi’s significantly reduce outdoor water use,” said OMWD board secretary Christy Guerin. “Since up to 70 percent of a home’s water use is outdoors, switching to a climate-appropriate landscape can also lower water bills.”

Since 2006, the county-wide landscape contest has highlighted landscapes that use less water. OMWD is one of twelve water agencies participating in the contest.

View photos of winning landscapes from throughout the county, at www.landscapecontest.com.