Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch will host a water conservation summit April 22  intended to help Homeowner Association Boards and professional landscapers learn how to conserve water, especially during the summer.

The summit will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Redmond City Hall, conference room 208. The event is open to the public and anyone can attend.

The agenda will feature experts from the city of Redmond, Oregon Water Resources Department, OSU Cascades, and Redmond School District. Each will provide ideas for reducing water use.

City staff will also report early results of its conservation efforts and three pilot projects where Redmond replaced turf with native plantings.

“Redmond, as a community, uses around 2.5 billion gallons of water every year of which 84 percent of this use occurs between April and October,” said Mayor Ed Fitch in a press release. “If we can work together to limit our summer irrigation needs by planting drought tolerant landscaping, reducing turf, and utilizing waterwise irrigation controllers and sprinklers, we can drastically reduce our overall water consumption in Redmond. Water in the high desert is becoming a more limited resource requiring all of us to be more conscientious stewards.”

Fitch said he also plans to ask City Council to consider new policy approaches to community-wide water conservation, including waiving all regulations to allow for non-turf plantings, and a tiered water rate structure where the cost of water increases with how much you use.

The city plans to record the summit, and can be viewed live or on demand at www.redmondoregon.gov/citymeetings. For information about the event, contact deputy city recorder Kayla Duddy at 541-923-7755 or at  kayla.duddy@redmondoregon.gov.