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LAYTON, Utah (AP) -- Feeling guilty about a lush lawn?
Nearly 300 volunteers are being sought in Davis and Weber counties to install a control box that would turn on sprinklers only when the soil is dry, starting next spring.
The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and state and federal governments are pledging to spend $298,000 on the equipment. The water district isn't trying to promote brown lawns.
"We just want to be more efficient," chief engineer Mark Anderson said.
A weather station, made by Logan-based Irrisoft, will gather data about temperature, humidity, solar radiation and rainfall and send the numbers to a computer server.
When there's evidence that a half-inch of moisture has been lost from the soil, the home equipment will get a signal and sprinklers will turn on.
Anderson predicts the system will save an amount of water equal to what 100 average homes use in a year. That adds up to $18,900.
The program will last for a year, and volunteers will g et to keep the equipment.
Similar systems are used at golf courses, Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Red Butte Gardens, Brigham Young University and Utah State University.
A water district in California received money for a similar program in 2005. The Weber district's involvement is a first for local governments in Utah, said Eric Klotz, water-conservation chief in the state Division of Water Resources.
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Information from Deseret Morning News: http://www.deseretnews.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-09-30-06 1415MDT
