San Gabriel Cemetery to Save More Than 140,000 Gallons of Water Per Year

California American Water announced today that San Gabriel Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the San Gabriel Valley, has received a California American Water grant funding the installation of two weather-based irrigation controller systems on the cemetery’s property. The new technology will provide San Gabriel Cemetery, located partly in the city of San Gabriel and the city of San Marino, the ability to better control and monitor their irrigation system, enabling them to save water.

“With this new technology, we will no longer have to manually adjust a portion of our sprinkler system when it rains or the weather gets hotter,” said Gayle MacGregor, San Gabriel Cemetery Manager. “I appreciate California American Water’s work and support. We are excited about the opportunity to lower our water use and continue to provide a beautiful and well maintained cemetery for the community and future generations.”

The upgrades include replacing a portion of the cemetery’s aging sprinkler timers with weather based irrigation controller system that includes:

• 2 Weathermatic SL 4800 controllers
• 4 Weathermatic SL M12 modules
• 2 Weathermatic SL W15 weather monitors

The grant also included a water survey of San Gabriel Cemetery that was completed by EchoTech Services, California American Water’s consultant. EchoTech Services determined that the cemetery will save approximately 140,000 gallons of water per year with the installation of the two weather based irrigation controllers.

“The weather-based irrigation controllers will use weather data to create a watering schedule that adjusts automatically as the weather conditions change throughout the year,” said Garry Hofer, California American Water’s Los Angeles Operations Manager. “The controller sets the watering schedule based on the type of plants, irrigation system, soil type and various weather factors such as temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind.”

Hofer said that the amount of water saved after installing a weather-based irrigation controller varies based on the size of irrigated landscape area, previous amount of watering, condition and maintenance of the existing irrigation system and annual weather trends. “The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California estimates that the average homeowner can save 13,500 gallons a year, and commercial properties an average of 105,900 gallons per year, by upgrading to a weather-based irrigation controller,” Hofer said.

Founded in 1872, San Gabriel Cemetery is an endowment care property that has served families of all faiths for more than 130 years. The cemetery encompasses an area of 14 acres with many of the original pioneers of the San Gabriel Valley laid to rest there. Additional information about San Gabriel Cemetery can be found at www.sangabrielcemetery.com.

California American Water, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), provides high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 600,000 people. California American Water’s Los Angeles County service district includes approximately 28,000 households and businesses and serves a population of about 100,000 people in the cities of Bradbury, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, Monrovia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino and Temple City, as well as unincorporated portions of Los Angeles County and the Baldwin Hills area.

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.

In 2011, American Water is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a year long campaign to promote water efficiency and the importance of protecting water from source to tap. To learn more, visit www.amwater125.com.