It could not have been a more beautiful day, and what a great Arcadia Rotary setting at the L.A. County Arboretum. Our own Richard Schulhof, and Arboretum CEO, took the lead by updating us on the water conservation efforts under way.
When “Lucky” Baldwin purchased the Rancho Santa Anita in 1875 he acquired not only the natural lakes but also the water rights in both Big and Little Santa Anita Canyons. The ranch was situated on a 2000-acre artesian belt from its location atop the Raymond Hill Fault. Baldwin Lake served as a holding reservoir for the ranch irrigation projects. Just three months ago, the lake was almost empty, but recently three million gallons of water flowed into the lake from the Raymond Basin, Raymond fault and a subterranean dam, some water is not potable. There is still a need to purchase water, clean water for irrigation. The Arboretum is currently completing a new high tech irrigation system using sensors and monitors to determine soil moisture, track weather conditions and control the application of water remotely, even from staff smart phones.
Past Rotary District Governor Ernie Jensen was introduced and spoke about the history of sprinklers in California, conservation, and what we can do. In the late 1940’s most irrigation systems used steel pipe, but it was found to corrode after several years. Copper pipe was introduced just before galvanized pipe in the 1950’s. Automatic sprinklers with hydraulic valves were common in the more affluent areas of San Marino and Pasadena. By the 60’s and 70’s electro mechanical sprinklers with solenoid valves were developed, just before electronic controllers with battery backup. Today, there are various types of sprinklers for different uses, which include; drip systems, spray heads, impact sprinklers such as Rain Bird (typically used for large areas of coverage, gear-driven rotors (with gears inside to move the sprinkler head back and forth), micro spray, etc. Ernie seems to like the newer smart controllers, especially one named “Solar Synk”, which is a self contained weather station that measures sunlight and temperature and uses evapotranspiration to determine the correct seasonal adjustment percentage of value to send to the controller. All in all, we know we have to conserve water whenever possible. When installing landscape, choose drought resistant plants, design an effective system to irrigate, use an automatic sprinkler system with a “rain switch”. Get a smart controller and irrigate using these time frames for best results: 5-10 minutes shrubs, 10-12 minutes for lawn, 30-40 minutes with Rain Birds, 2 hours using drip systems.
Don’t forget to join the Arboretum as a member, you get free admission with membership, and there are various levels of benefits, and if you see Richard Schulhof, he will offer it at half price. Many thanks Richard and Ernie. It was a great Arbor Day for the greatest Rotary Club in the world!

(Pat Dolphin)