Weather experts are predicting a robust El Nino this winter, which can bring heavy rains. Even though we will have rain, it’s still very important to conserve water, no matter what the weather.

Here are some things you can do to conserve during heavy rain events:

Turn off your sprinklers and let Mother Nature take over during cooler, wetter months. Turn off sprinklers ahead of, during and for two days after any rain storms.

Capture the rain water with rain barrels. Rebates of $75 per barrel are available (maximum of four).

Install a drought-tolerant landscape. Late fall and winter are optimal for planting. IRWD will pay $2 per square foot for customers to remove their grass.

Purchase a weather-based irrigation controller. These smart controllers automatically adjust your sprinkler run times to match changing climate conditions. Rebates of up to $80 per controller are available (for less than one acre of landscape).

Rebate information is available on our website.

Cooking grease poured down the drain that is associated with the preparation of holiday turkeys, roasts and hams is the leading cause of sewage spills this time of year.

Over time, the grease sticks to the sewer pipes, building up and eventually clogging the entire pipe, resulting in costly cleanups and repairs.

Here are tips for getting rid of left over cooking grease:

• Place left over grease into containers with lids, such as jars, and place into a trash receptacle for pick up on trash day.
  • Mix oils with absorbent materials, such as coffee grounds, put in a lidded container and dispose with the trash.
  • If cleaning a greasy pan, pour grease into a container and wipe excess grease from the pan with paper towels. Place the towels into the trash.
  • If using a deep fat fryer, mix oils with absorbent material, such as cat litter, or soak up excess oil with newspaper and put into the trash.

For more information about the FOG program, please visit our website.

During the month of October, IRWD customers used nearly 24 percent less water compared to October 2013. The District's five-month running water conservation total now stands at 17.8 percent, which is above the 16 percent total that was mandated for the District earlier this year by the California State Water Resources Control Board. 

IRWD customers have saved 1.8 billion gallons of water since June 1st, putting IRWD 71 percent of the way toward reaching the overall water reduction goal, which must be met by February 29, 2016. Four months remain until the deadline for the District and its customers to achieve total water savings of nearly 2.5 billion gallons. 

While El Niño is looking very likely this winter, its impact will not undo four consecutive years of a statewide, historic drought. IRWD is encouraging its customers to take advantage of the potentially wet weather by doing the following things:

• Give your sprinklers a winter break - Turn off your sprinklers and let Mother Nature take over during the cooler, wetter months. At a minimum, sprinklers should be left off ahead of, during and for two days after any rainstorm.
• Purchase one or more rain barrels - Put the rain falling on your property to good use, even days after any storms have passed. Rebates of $75 per barrel are available (Maximum of 4 rebates).
• Install a drought-tolerant landscape - Late Fall and Winter are optimal for planting. IRWD pays customers $2 per square foot for customers to replace their grass lawns with drought friendly gardens.
• Purchase a Weather-Based Irrigation Controller - These smart controllers automatically adjust your sprinkler run times to match changing climate conditions and turn off your sprinklers ahead of and during any rain events. Rebates of up to $80 per controller are available for residents with less than one-acre of landscape.

For more information, please visit the IRWD El Niño page. To find out which rebates IRWD offers to its customers, go to rightscapenow.com/rebates.

Nearly 700 IRWD customers participated in the first ever IRWD Landscape Makeover Contest. Three customers with the highest percentage reduction in water use were crowned as winners, while a fourth customer won a bonus prize for saving the most gallons of water overall.

Winners reduced their three-month water consumption by 66 to 80 percent compared to the same period last year. Each winner has been notified and will receive a new drought-tolerant landscape valued at up to $6,000. Thank you to all of the IRWD customers who participated in the contest. In total, more than nine million gallons of water was saved!

What are some of the actions the winners took to cut back on water use at their homes?

• Reduced outdoor water use
• Let grass go brown
• Cut outdoor watering to once per week
• Fixed leaks
• Took shorter showers
• Used sink and shower water for irrigation
• Flushed toilets less often
• Ran full loads of laundry
• Used shower water to flush toilets
• Relocated plants to be in groups with similar watering needs

IRWD will document the progress of each winner's landscape makeover project and post all of the best photos and other information online at rightscapenow.com.