Affiliated Housing Awarded Water-Saving Grant

UC San Diego’s Housing Services is excited to announce a new partnership with the metropolitan water district and our Affiliated Residential Community Housing (ARCH) residences, La Jolla del Sol and Coast Apartments.

ARCH received its first-ever grant (in July 2008) for irrigation-smart controllers, specifically the Weathertrak ET Pro2. These smart controllers allow our Housing communities to closely monitor irrigation water usage. Some of the features include:

• Allowing the automatic adjustment of watering schedules as the weather changes
• Reducing runoff by using a wet-soak method of watering
• Identifying changes in water flow due to a broken sprinkler head, etc., and automatically turning off that zone to prevent waste

The grant for La Jolla del Sol was approved at $10,000, while Coast Apartments received $5,000. The grant covers the entire cost of the controllers.

In addition, ARCH plans to purchase new precision rotating sprinkler nozzles that reduce water usage by 20% by “jetting” the water (which is more resistant to wind) as opposed to “misting” the water (currently being used). ARCH continues to secure rebates from the water agency, which will cut the cost of each nozzle by more than half.