(Mission Times Courier, San Diego, Ca) -  A free workshop offered by the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College (www.thegarden.org) , and presented in conjunction with several water agencies—Helix, Otay, Padre Dam, and Sweetwater Authority-- shows how homeowner associations (HOAs) and landscapers can be powerful allies in conserving water in the landscape. The workshop provides HOA property managers, board members, and landscape professionals with strategies to lower the amount of water used at their sites, and ultimately save money, by working together.

The “Saving Water and Money for Your Homeowners Association” workshop will be held: Friday, November 14, 2008 from 10am-12pm  at the Helix Water District Operation Center, 1233 Vernon Wy. El Cajon, CA 92020.

Interested participants can pre-register at (619) 660-0614 x 10. Workshops and parking are free.

Topics include an update on the San Diego water situation, short-term remedies for water conservation, and legal issues for HOAs involved in landscape changes. Helix Water District will host the workshop and discuss the various incentive programs offered by local water agencies.

In addition to water agency staff members, experts on the workshop panel include a Cuyamaca College Horticulture Instructor (former Water Conservation Garden Manager of Horticulture) and a lawyer with years of experience working with HOAs. Experts from other disciplines will be on hand for the question and answer portion of the program.

The goal is for property managers, board members, and landscape professionals to attend the workshop together so that improvements and action items in all areas of property management can be addressed.

“This is a valuable, fast-paced workshop that is packed with real-world solutions from experts,” said Marty Eberhardt, Executive Director of the Water Conservation Garden.

The workshop is the result of a recommendation in a water conservation white paper released by the San Diego County Water Authority. The white paper recommended planning several half-day “how to” sessions on improving landscape water use efficiency. These “how to” outreach and educations sessions would target homeowners association (HOA) management companies and boards, landscape contractors, landscape architects, and irrigation suppliers to inform HOAs how they can participate in financial incentive programs, and implement landscape water-saving techniques.

The white paper summarizes input from participants in the 2007 Water Conservation Summit and it recommends actions to advance key provisions of the Water Authority’s Blueprint for Water Conservation. (Post Summit White Paper and the Blueprint are available at: http://www.waterconservationsummit.com ).