This year marked the 6th annual WaterSmart Awards presented by Anaheim Public Utilities in partnership with Anaheim Beautiful. Three properties, one commercial and two residential received this years award for using WaterSmart landscaping in beautiful ways.

StorQuest is a brand new facility located at the corner of Manchester Ave. and Santa Ana St. As part of their new construction, StorQuest took water conscious leadership through the installation of drought-tolerant landscape that surrounds the perimeter of the property.  They have installed crape myrtle trees as well as lantanas, creeping rosemary and autumn sage, that require minimal watering and creates a vibrant landscape.  By using these types of plants and trees and by installing a low water-use drip irrigation system, StorQuest is forecasted to have an estimated water savings of nearly 400,000 gallons per year. 

Maria Navarat’s beautiful and well thought out selection of drought tolerant plants and succulents cover the entirety of her front lawn and wraps around to the other side, being a corner house. Plants such as big bluestem, aeonium and sedum succulent varieties, have transformed this landscape.  She also replaced grass portions with Dymondia, creating a drought tolerant ground cover that is a great lawn replacement in drought prone areas. Maria’s contagious energy and passion for planting and growing shows in her finished product, which she calls her “heaven.” In total, landscape renovations cover approximately 2,300 square feet, resulting in an estimated annual water savings of 101,000 gallons. Maria’s home is located on the corner of Sycamore and Chantilly Streets.

As an active community member, Sandra Jones was committed to making Anaheim a more water-conscious and sustainable community. After witnessing the 1st winners recognized for their landscape transformation projects in 2014, she took the initiative in converting her own yard as well. Her home is located on Hempstead Road and Kingsley Street. Sandra removed grass to install many succulent varieties including trailing lantana and bottlebrush and incorporated drip irrigation throughout. A nice highlight and a unique addition to her transformed landscape is the inclusion of a dry riverbed (or rock-lined swale) and an overarching bridge made by her late husband. The dry river bed will assist in slowing storm water runoff during rain events and minimizing the potential for erosion. She enjoyed having family and friends over to help with the project. This project covers over 1,100 square feet of area, with an estimated water savings of nearly 50,000 gallons per year.