Each year, the Partnership publishes an Annual Report detailing accomplishments over the year. All of the small changes the community has made slowly added up to some impressive numbers like the 372,698 square feet of turf that was removed. That's six and half football fields! See the annual report here. All Annual Reports

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership with two WaterSense Sustained Excellence awards – one as a Promotional Partner and one for the partnership’s Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program as a Professional Certifying Organization. WaterSense honored its Sustained Excellence, Partner of the Year and Excellence Award winners during the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas. The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership was one of 19 Sustained Excellence Award winners. WaterSense recognized the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership for its water conservation achievements in 2023, including coordinating the partnership’s Dye Tab Challenge contest with the WaterSense Program’s Fix-a-Leak…

Check out the Press Democrat article highlighting the benefits of the Garden Sense Program: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/garden-consultations-sonoma-county/ Learn more about Garden Sense: https://www.savingwaterpartnership.org/programs_list/garden-sense/

Garden Sense is a program of the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership and the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County. Garden Sense consultants provide support to Sonoma County residents interested in removing lawn, upgrading to efficient irrigation systems, and selecting low water use plants that will thrive in our climate. Garden Sense consultants help residents find applicable rebate programs and provide advice and resources so that residents can feel more confident getting the work done. Since 2014, Garden Sense consultants have completed nearly 2,000 site visits and saved over an estimated 16 million gallons of water! Garden Sense was recently…

October is the start of a new Water Year (Oct. 1 – Sept. 30), and like any new year, it gives us the opportunity to reflect on the past and make resolutions for the future. Statewide, the theme of Water Year 2023 was weather whiplash. Illustrating the dramatic extremes of California’s climate, the governor’s emergency proclamations for both drought and flood were in place simultaneously in the latter part of the water year. Here in Sonoma County, we moved from historic drought to torrential rain and even some remarkable snowfall in a matter of weeks. The rains brought much needed…

The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership earned multiple awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its work promoting the EPA WaterSense program and water efficiency in 2022.  The awards were presented at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada and included a Partner of the Year Award and a WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award for the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership, the organization’s second and seventh WaterSense awards, respectively. In total, nine Partner of the Year awards were presented at the conference, along with 13 Sustained Excellence awards.  WaterSense, a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the EPA, is both a label…

Shorter days mean shorter run times for your irrigation system. Plants need less water in the fall as growth winds down and plants prepare for winter. Reduce your run times by 20% now and up to 40% in late fall, or check out this Irrigation Scheduling Tool to get a custom schedule. Fall is also time to prune perennials and cool season grasses, and to clear out dead, woody materials and dry leaves for fire season. For more info, check out the Maintenance Calendar in the Water Smart Gardens Maintenance Manual – your guide to a garden that thrives.

Join us at the Sonoma County Fair, August 3-13th. The Sonoma-Marin Saving Partnership and the UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County have partnered together to showcase a beautiful, sustainable, low water use garden that is designed to thrive in Sonoma County's climate. Our garden demonstration will be on display outside of the Hall of Flowers, stop by to learn about sustainable gardening practices.

Ever wondered how to correctly schedule your irrigation controller based on weather, plants or irrigation application? Well, we have a solution for you! The Sonoma-Marin Water Saving Partnership developed the Irrigation Scheduling Tool to simplify and enhance the accuracy of irrigation controller scheduling. This innovative web-based tool retrieves data from local weather stations daily, providing users with precise calculations of the optimal water requirements for plants during the week. By considering various plant types and irrigation emission devices, the tool generates a recommended irrigation schedule. The irrigation scheduling tool also includes a User Guide to assist users. Pro Tip: How do you find a leak…

The folks at Fine Gardening have published an informative and inspirational article on drought tolerant plants. Two key design strategies are discussed: matching plant density to the space and a focus on color or texture. Check it out here.

This article is courtesy of the EPA Water Sense: If you want to celebrate the Earth this year, don’t forget to include water. More than 70 percent of the surface of our planet is water, but almost all of that is ocean water so full of salt, so we can’t drink it! Because water is such a precious resource, we all need to do our part to save it. Here are some ways you can start saving water on Earth Day—and every day:  1. Stop the flow. Water doesn’t need to be flowing while you are busy brushing your teeth,…

The Resilient Landscapes Coalition works to provide practical information to homeowners, landscape professionals and defensible space inspectors on how to implement fire-wise landscapes. The new website features resources on home hardening, landscape considerations, maintenance tips, plant selection and more. The creation of the website was funded by a grant from Ag+Open Space, as part of the PG&E settlement funds. The Resilient Landscapes Coalition is a partnership among Fire Safe Sonoma, Habitat Corridor Project, Sonoma Ecology Center, and the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County.