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SIERRA VISTA — Resource conservation groups, businesses and government agencies teamed up to inform the public of an array of water conservation options available at the Water Awareness Month Water Expo at the Mall at Sierra Vista on Saturday.
Visitors were encouraged to think of water conservation at home by signing a pledge to save a gallon of water a day.
As they hoped to lure a variety of different people with different water habits to the event, so did the expo feature a number of ways in which residents could reduce water use.
Ranging from pamphlets outlining tips like not leaving the faucet on while shaving and a listing of grants and rebates available for various water-related projects, to more permanent solutions like low water use washing machines, rainwater harvesting and low moisture landscaping plants; there were plenty of ideas of varying degrees of commitment to help get residents started thinking about conserving water.
“We’re hoping that people leave knowing what’s available in this area for them,” said Cado Daily, coordinator for the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Water Wise program. “There’s just a wonderful array of many different ways that people can save a gallon a day. That’s the whole idea, to ask them to be more aware of their water use and then give them the resources to do that.”
Jim Koweek is the owner of Arizona Revegetation Monitoring Co. Based in Santa Cruz County, Koweek said his grass seed mixtures and flowers he sells are all native to the high deserts of the Southwest, and come with a range of benefits for residents, including water conservation.
“Because these things have evolved to meet our specific conditions, they’re drought tolerant, wind tolerant,” Koweek said.
When he first got into the business, Koweek said it wasn’t uncommon for new residents in the area to attempt to bring the plants and landscaping from wherever they came from with them.
“People would try to make their house look like California or back east,” he said.
Most of his customers, however, have since traded their old environment for a more ecologically-sound one that requires fewer resources and effort to maintain.
“They’re not trying to make this look like the old homestead in Kentucky. They want to keep it natural. That’s partly because it works, partly because of water usage, and it’s partly because it’s a lot easier to maintain and deal with,” he said.
Using native grasses not only means that the vegetation will thrive, but can help prevent erosion and runoff when it rains.
“It keeps it on the property and eventually a chance to get back into the aquifer,” he said.
Members of the Hereford Natural Resource Conservation District were also on hand at the expo to help educate those with problems like erosion and drainage on their personal-sized plots of land.
“We just try to put information out, and help people that have questions about what they can do for conservation, deal with erosion on their own property,” said John Lohse, director of the Hereford NRCD.
Their work also includes informing residents of grants and other financial support available to them to help shoulder the costs of these and other conservation efforts, he said.
Nearly two hours into the expo, more than 50 people had signed Water Wise’s pledge to reduce water use by a gallon a day, but Daily was aiming much higher.
“We’ve brought 500 of the fliers, so we’re off to a good start.”
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