Goal #1 - Education

The District takes its leadership role in conservation very seriously and acknowledges the need to increase its education efforts to the users and customers.  This includes the 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. usage plan, the rationale behind it, and proper design and maintenance of the irrigation systems.  Some education programs will need to address the possibilities and effects associated with not having a plentiful supply of water.  This education emphasis will include both the responsibilities of the customers and also what the District will do in cooperation with other agencies to mitigate the effects of drought conditions.  The District will partner in an interagency effort to either give or get necessary support throughout the basin.

Ninety percent of the waste and poor usage practices experienced within the District come from approximately ten percent of the customers.  Education programs, therefore, must be directed and effective upon this percentage of water abusers.  The District is prepared to take punitive measures against chronic abusers in the form of metering or outright stopping of water delivery.  Conservation efforts benefit all the customers, and correcting and retraining the few abusers will maintain good results.

Aside from dealing with the abusers, the District wishes to emphasize an education program to help and aid its customers.  The District will continually work to motivate conservation measures by showing how conservation directly benefits the customer rather than being a punitive effort.

The Board of Trustees of Roy Water Conservancy District has identified new educational opportunities that will encourage taking irrigation systems "off the clock" and linking them to technology such as precipitation activity in ground moisture sensors.  The District plans to make available packets of water-saving devices for outdoor use on things like hoses and hand sprinklers.

Although Roy Water Conservancy District has adopted the 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Water Restriction Resolution, the District wants customers to be aware of the exceptions allowed in the ordinance such as:

• Allowing the use of water while conducting maintenance and repairs of residential systems.  Residential systems that are well-maintained eliminate waste and are more efficient.
• The establishment of new lawns and plantings.  New plantings that are properly established will take less water in the future and ultimately add to the District's conservation efforts.
• Most farming operations are exempt from the resolution.

Even though the District is continually developing its educational programs, two practices that have produced unsatisfactory results have been discontinued.  Both initiatives failed to produce measurable conservation:

• Odd-even watering days.  Customers set their automatic clocks for every other day, thus, watering regardless of the lawn or garden needs.
• An every-third-day watering program proved to have similar results to odd-even watering days.