Prepare for the Rainy Season – Rebates Available!
With October 1st kicking off the start of the rainy season, there’s no better time to begin thinking about ways to prepare your landscape and take advantage of our rainfall’s natural benefits. Not only will you be treating your garden and lawn to clean and free rainwater, you’ll also be saving water and preventing polluted rainwater runoff from entering our waterways. During a rainstorm, runoff from roofs, sidewalks, and driveways can carry trash, pet waste, automobile fluids, and other pollutants into our storm drains. Help reduce water waste and preserve the beauty of our waterways through the responsible use of our rainfall. Here’s how:
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Capture and Use Rainfall – Harvesting rainwater not only helps conserve water and protect our waterways from polluted runoff, it also nourishes your garden with clean (and free) water, and reduces soil erosion. Learn about the many rain-saving rebates available through the County of San Diego’s Waterscape Rebate Program, including rerouting rainwater from your roof to your lawn, installing rain or rock gardens to soak up rainwater, using a rain barrel or cistern to save rainwater for future use, and installing gutters to better manage rainwater in your yard. For more information, visit the County’s Rain-Saving Rebates webpage and Rain-Saving Calculation Guide to calculate your rain harvest potential.
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Manage Your Irrigation Practices Carefully – With the increased rain, now is the time to dial back your irrigation to prevent wasting water and money. Set a timer on sprinklers to run for only a few minutes to prevent overwatering. Learn more by watching the instructional video Understanding Your Irrigation Controller, Courtesy of Helix Water District. While you are adjusting the schedule, be sure to check for and repair leaking or broken sprinklers and adjust sprinkler heads so they don’t spray onto streets and sidewalks. Water in the early morning or late evening when it is cooler outside to allow water to absorb into the soil.
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Properly Maintain Structural Best Management Practices (BMPs) – it is important to maintain these BMPs before the rains come to make sure they are working properly. By doing so you will help prevent pollutants such as trash, fertilizers, pesticides, and sediment from making their way into storm drains and ultimately to our local creeks, rivers, and ocean. Key benefits of various types of BMPs include:
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Infiltration BMPs – Diverts stormwater runoff flows to areas where water can percolate through the surrounding soil using natural filtering to remove pollutants;
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Vegetated BMPs – Filters stormwater by using vegetation (often various shrubs and grasses) and soil to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff;
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Drainage Insert BMPs – Captures trash and debris before they can enter the storm drain system;
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Detention BMPs – Protects against flooding by temporarily containing stormwater runoff on your property while allowing pollutants within it to settle to the basin floor before discharging to the local storm drain system.
Visit the County of San Diego’s Waterscape Rebate Program page for information on all of the available landscaping and water-wise rebates included in the program to help you save water and money, and beautify your home and garden. Rebates are available for residents, businesses and agricultural producers living in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.
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Find My District
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ONLINE SERVICES
Report Stormwater Pollution
Report observed pollution to the correct jurisdiction.
Citizen Access Portal
Research property information and permits. Apply for some permits online.
GIS Maps
Find property information including zoning designation with our web-based mapping tool.
Watershed Protection Website
sandiegocounty.gov/stormwater
Project Clean Water efforts are focused on providing a centralized point of access to water quality information and resources for San Diego County Watersheds. Click HERE to visit Project Clean Water’s website.
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