On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, City of Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch will host a Water Conservation Summit intended to help Homeowner Association Boards (HOA) and professional landscapers learn how we can collectively work to conserve water, especially during the summer irrigation months. The Water Summit will be hosted at Redmond City Hall, conference room 208, located at 411 SW Ninth St., 11am to 1pm. This event is open to the public.
The agenda will feature experts from the City of Redmond, Oregon Water Resources Department, OSU Cascades, and Redmond School District providing easy to implement water-wise strategies.
City staff will also be reporting on the early results of our conservation efforts and our three pilot projects where we 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,” states Mayor Ed Fitch. “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.”
Later this year and in conjunction with public input, Mayor Fitch will be suggesting the City Council consider new policy approaches to community-wide water conservation, including:
- A waiver of CCR regulations to allow for non-turf plantings.
- A tiered water rate structure where the cost of water increases with usage.
If you are unable to attend, the Water Conservation Summit will be recorded and available for viewing online at redmondoregon.gov/citymeetings. For information about the event, please contact Deputy City Recorder Kayla Duddy at 541-923-7755 or at kayla.duddy@redmondoregon.gov.
The City encourages our residents to learn about rebate programs for installation of water efficient technologies like moisture sensing irrigation controllers and sprinklers, as well as watering schedules and turf management in the high desert. Visit us online at redmondoregon.gov/waterconservation for more information.
