News

City of Palmdale Exceeds 20% Mandated Water Conservation:
February 21, 2023

Arborjet | Ecologel, leaders in plant health care and water management solutions are pleased to
announce that according to the Palmdale Water District (PWD), they collaborated with two of the district’s
top water users – the City of Palmdale and the Antelope Valley Union High School District, to reduce their
water usage last year by more than the mandated 20% compared to 2020. Proven data shows in the two
districts combined, PWD saved enough water in 2022 to serve about 300 Palmdale households with four
people for one year.

PWD began conservation outreach in April 2021 before a statewide drought was declared. City of
Palmdale Parks Superintendent Steven J. Montenegro said, “Trained urban grounds and green spaces
staff applied lessons learned during previous drought cycles to manage the impact on the city’s urban
forest. City of Palmdale Inspector, I.S.A. Certified Arborist, Evan Armstrong adds “The urban grounds and
green spaces team for the City of Palmdale strives to exemplify a best-in-class mentality which is
reflected in the daily implementation of water conservation best management practices.”

“Collaboration with PWD has been exemplary,” said Palmdale Landscape Superintendent Paul
Wood. “We are committed to using water wisely and remain proactive in irrigation management. The team
surveyed sites and reduced programs to meet the guidelines. We utilized central control to manage
irrigation systems, adjusted programs based on daily weather data and recognized excessive flow when
there was a failure, ensuring repairs happen promptly” said Wood.

“We are encouraged and delighted by the collaboration between stakeholders,” said Montenegro. “We
recommended PWD add innovative technology such as Hydretain® to their water conservation rebate
program and were pleased with their positive response.”

“Hydretain served an important role in our water conservation success last growing season.
Applying Hydretain to turf and planter areas allowed us to mitigate plant stress, declining plant
health and unsightly curb appeal typical when reducing irrigation of green spaces in our high
desert microclimate. Palmdale is in the Mojave desert. Hydretain is a great product that can
quickly compensate for irrigation system inefficiencies common in most older systems,” said
Montenegro.

Ecologel’s flagship brand, Hydretain® is designed to drastically reduce watering requirements of
turfgrasses, trees, shrubs, flowers, and agriculture by up to 50%. It works by allowing turf and plants to
use the moisture vapor in the soil that would otherwise be lost to evaporation. Different from a wetting
agent or a superabsorbent polymer, it attracts moisture vapor from the soil and condenses it back into
usable water droplets.

According to Rick Irwin, President of Ecologel LLC, “Municipalities and award winning landscape
companies across the country are offering Hydretain application services to help successfully maintain
healthy sports fields, parks, urban forests, lawns and landscapes using far less water.”

Hydretain’s ability to manage soil moisture between watering cycles and/or rainfall, provides
many other benefits such as, increased seed germination, enhanced fertilizer efficiency,
improved sod establishment, extended flower life and maximized crop production. Hydretain
is safe to use on commercially grown food as well as residential vegetable and herb
gardens, school grounds, sports and playing fields, and golf courses.

PWD Resource and Analytics Supervisor Claudia Bolanos says she meets regularly with stakeholders
and provides monthly water usage reports to facilitate water management. “Because of the meetings and
collaboration, PWD began offering commercial rebates, including ones for landscape conversion,
weather-based irrigation controllers, and moisture retaining soil additives. We will continue working
together to find ways to save. Conservation needs to continue no matter how much rain we get. It really is
the way of life now.”

Media Contact: Kelly Rostad kgrostad7@gmail.com

About: Arborjet | Ecologel are partners in plant care with a focus on environmentally responsible solutions for tree
injection technologies, water conservation, and plant nutrition. Founded in 2000, Arborjet Inc. has always focused on
providing the most effective formulations and delivery systems to protect trees, shrubs, and plants from a wide variety
of insect, disease, and nutritional concerns. Ecologel Solutions LLC. is a long standing, premier developer and
manufacturer of innovative products for water conservation, plant nutrition and pond and lake management. Together, both companies are backed by years of research, and remain committed to advancing the industries they
serve through thought leadership, product and technology development, scientific research, and exceptional
customer service.

About: PWD Since 1918, Palmdale Water District has provided high-quality water at a reasonable cost. PWD strives
for excellence in providing great customer care; advocating for local water issues that help their residents; educating
the community on water-use efficiency; and leading the region in researching and implementing emerging
technologies that increase operational efficiency.