Culver City Parks Task 8.1 Final Plan - Flipbook - Page 135
or greater than 2500 square feet. For compliance
with this ordinance, it is important to work with a
qualified irrigation consultant who can provide the
required calculations and determine a project’s
water budget compliance. Overall, each project’s
estimated total water use (ETWU) cannot exceed
its maximum applied water allowance (MAWA),
which is calculated based on the type of project,
the evapotranspiration rates of plants used, the
irrigation water source (recycled water or potable),
and typology of landscape use and design (pools,
urban agriculture, etc).35
In addition to MWELO, in June 2022 an emergency
regulation to ban decorative turf irrigation with
potable water (non-functional turf irrigation) in
commercial, industrial, and institutional areas took
effect across the state of California. “Non-functional
turf” is defined as turf that is solely ornamental
and does not include turf areas regularly used for
recreational purposes such as sports fields or areas
used for civic or community events. It is estimated
that over 50,000 acres of the estimated 218,000
acres in the service area of Metropolitan Water
District of Southern California is categorized as nonfunctional turf, and removing this turf can result
in an additional 10% of water savings regionally.36
Culver City has begun an evaluation process to
review these areas within the parks systems and
consider other groundcover and planting options
that are low water use. This will result in a need
to change some areas of existing turf grass in
the coming years, which will generate a capital
improvements budget requirement and different
climate-adapted maintenance regimes than are
currently employed.
The conversion of these turf areas to low water use
planting will also help the parks system comply with
MWELO, by converting high water use turf areas to
low or very low water use plant groundcover species
and shrubs.37
WATER EFFICIENCY
COMPLIANCE FOR
CULVER CITY PARKS
Water Efficiency Opportunities
During the Parks Plan redesign process, parks were
designed to adhere to MWELO requirements to
incorporate California native plants and preserve
water resources. To help advise on additional water
savings strategies during the park redesign process,
a preliminary assessment of water use at each park
was conducted based on available data.
Parks that may have higher on average water use
include:
• Blanco Park
• Carlson Park
• Tellefson Park
• Fox Hills Parkette
Therefore, opportunities for removal of non-essential
turf and integration of water savings practices
may be most applicable at these parks. During
final engineering for all park redesigns, additional
opportunities for non-functional turf removal will be
identified to further reduce local water demands.
In addition to non-essential turf removal, PRCS
should consider implementing effective water
management strategies such as:
• Smart irrigation or weather-based
controllers to irrigate park areas at optimal
times to promote efficiency of water use.
• Coordinating with Golden State Water
Company to regularly track water demand
at parks (e.g. quarterly or annually), to
identify leaks and promote sustainable
water use.
• For new buildings with potable (e.g. hand
washing) and non-potable (e.g. lavatory
flushing) water demands, consider
opportunities to implement greywater
or condensate water reuse systems for
efficient localized on-site reuse of water.
Model Water Efficient
California Assembly Bill 1572
Landscape Ordinance (MWELO)
Non-Functional Turf Ban
2015
2022
Figure 126. Many laws govern water efficiency and
planting, including the Non-Functional Turf Ban in
2022 and the MWELO in effect since 2015. Source:
California State Water Resources Control Board,
2024; Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.”
California Department of Water Resources, State
of California, 2024. https://water.ca.gov/Programs/
Water-Use-And-Efficiency/Urban-Water-UseEfficiency/Model-Water-Efficient-LandscapeOrdinance.
CULVER CITY PARKS PLAN 135
