FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

Contact: Jackie Blake - 407-836-5916; jackie.blake@ocfl.net
Sandra Camacho -  407-836-5881; sandra.Camacho@ocfl.net
 
On Wednesday, September 17th, COMMISSIONER LINDA STEWART, DISTRICT 4 and the Orange County Utilities Department combined forces to introduce the first BLUE RIBBON NEIGHBORHOOD in East Orange County.  Reserve at Stoneybrook, a 52-home subdivision in the heart of the Stoneybrook Golf and County Club Development, was chosen for the pilot project area to work with the County on reducing their water usage, saving money for residents.

Total daily consumption for the neighborhood is 16,117 gallons with the daily average for the neighborhood at approximately 355 gallons per day.  The daily average of the highest use in the neighborhood is 830 gallons per day or 25,000 gallons per month.  By utilizing water conservation methods, those figures can be drastically reduced saving our natural resources.

To help reduce water consumption in the Reserve at Stoneybrook neighborhood, we are providing:

• Water-saving devices such as low volume shower heads, aerators, leak detection kits
• Mobile Irrigation Lab¡Xaudit of the in-ground irrigation system to determine efficiency  and make recommendations for reducing water use
  
• Landscape maintenance tips (Walk-about the neighborhood tours)
  
• Four homes will qualify for a Soil Moisture Sensor system that will be installed and connected to the irrigation system. Once installed, the soil moisture sensor probes will read the moisture content in the soil and turn the irrigation system on ONLY when the soil is dry enough for the plants to need watering.
  
• We will work with the neighborhood for one year, monitoring the water use of each home on a monthly basis and sending them additional water-saving tips in the mail.
  
• We will have three additional meetings with the entire neighborhood to let them know how they are doing in their quest to reduce the water consumption of the neighborhood by 10%.
  
• We will hold contests to identify the home with the highest water savings (by percentage) and the home with the most Florida Friendly landscape (attractive, water efficient irrigation, proper landscape practices, etc.)

Media Packages available upon request!

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