Help us be Water Smart - Report water leaks! 

If you observe a broken sprinkler or other water leak, give us a call at 530-757-5620 or email us at parksmakelifebetter@cityofdavis.org  If the report is after hours and is of an urgent nature, such as a broken line or gushing water, you may also call non-emergency police dispatch at 530-747-5400 and they will contact our Irrigation staff.

Current Conservation Efforts Underway in Parks and Greenbelts

Residents and visitors to Davis may notice that their neighborhood parks and greenbelts are a bit drier than usual. The City of Davis has been taking additional steps, beyond reductions already taken during the 2014-2017 drought, to reduce water usage by cutting back irrigation in some parks and greenbelts.

The Parks and Community Services Department has voluntarily reduced its water usage, in response to the dry conditions throughout the region and the Governor’s call for a voluntary 15% reduction in water usage state-wide. The Parks Division continues to irrigate and prioritize trees within the City’s landscapes.

Drought Information & Water Use Restrictions

Water Supplies During Dry Years and Drought 

• Implementing deficit-based watering rather than optimum irrigation. This results in less overall water consumption and less frequency of watering in parks and greenbelts.  Due to inconsistent uniformity in applying the water due to aging infrastructure, deficit watering can result in highly stressed areas in parks and greenbelts.  Staff are monitoring and attempting to repair all broken heads, lines and valves to improve overall uniformity and efficiency of all irrigation systems.
• Implementing cycle soak programing for irrigation systems.  This programming results in a slower application of water over a longer period of time to help reduce run-off and allow the water to absorb more effectively into the turf and soil.  Several higher water volume heads (4 gallons/minute) have been reduced to smaller flow heads (1½ gallons/minute) to assist with a more even distribution of water.
• Several parks have been comprehensively retrofitted with new central-based controllers. The City currently has 285 irrigation controllers, with 130 of them being central based.
• Replacing damaged, aged and poor performing heads with high efficiency rotors. About 400 heads and nozzles have been replaced as of Summer 2021. Adding flow sensing with master valves to many of the existing City controllers which helps manage water consumption, and receive “real time” high and low flow alarms as well as automatically shutting down irrigation systems for large line and mainline breaks.  Additional flow sensing is continuing to be added where applicable.
• Conducting water audits and developing more refined annual water budgets for each park and greenbelt location.
• Updating the City’s Landscape Specifications and Guidelines which has not been updated since 2004.  This document will assist the City in meeting current and new regulations for water usage, implement best water management practices, and develop additional demonstration turf reduction areas and irrigation improvements.
• The City completed several turf conversion areas in many of the parks and greenbelt areas. These lower public use areas were posted, and irrigation to these areas was either shut off completely or dramatically reduced in order to maintain any existing trees in the designated area. Conversions of these areas included increased mulching, planting of drought-tolerant landscaping, and/or addition of trees. Sites continue to be evaluated for future turf conversions.
• More information and maps of designated turf conversion locations within the parks and greenbelts will be coming soon!  We encourage residents to check in for periodic updates, and contact the Parks & Open Space division for any further questions or concerns at (530) 757-5656.