Citrus Heights Water District In The Community
Connecting with Community
At Citrus Heights Water District, we are committed to the communities we serve. We offer several programs that support community engagement and resources that help customers of all ages learn the importance of water efficiency and conservation.
We invite you to join us!
Community Garden Corps
CHWD has acquired plots at the Sylvan Ranch Community Garden to showcase water-efficient garden practices. We are looking for volunteers to help us maintain these plots. If you are interested, please sign up for more information below:
School Program
Citrus Heights Water District partners with schools within its service area to spread water awareness.
We offer one-hour interactive classroom presentations to demonstrate how students can conserve water every day. The classroom presentations are tailored for grades K-3, 4-6 and 7-8.
The presentation for grades K-3 includes watching a video and learning about the water cycle.
The presentation for grades 4-6 includes watching a video, learning about the water cycle, how water is treated before it reaches our homes, where our water comes from, and water conservation. This presentation also includes an exciting experiment on how dirty water is cleaned.
The junior high presentation (grades 7-8) focuses on a groundwater model that shows how water flows through the ground and the different layers of rock, granite and sand it must travel through. During the presentation, colored dye is injected into the groundwater model to simulate water percolation, and how it travels and spreads through our groundwater supply.
Each year, the Citrus Heights Water District (CHWD) and three of our neighboring water agencies conduct an annual poster contest in which students in grades 4-6 can submit a poster based on the year's theme. This year's theme was "The Traveling Water Droplet," and CHWD received 273 posters from local schools.
Congratulations to the winners within CHWD service area:
- Winner: Lyra Rutherford, 6th Grade, Mrs. Slayton, Woodside K-8
- Runner-Up: Liliana Hodges, 5th Grade, Ms. Weston, Trajan Elementary School
- Runner-Up: Sophia Richards, 4th Grade, Mrs. Blake, Trajan Elementary School
Watch the video below featuring the winners and their posters.
For more information on CHWD’s poster contest, please call (916) 735-7727.
Free water-themed coloring pages available from the Sacramento Department of Water Resources:
Citrus Heights Water District Events
We believe community involvement makes a stronger community. We invite you to join us in our community events and to attend our monthly Board of Directors meetings.
WaterSmart Classes
Free WaterSmart Classes
CHWD is committed to helping you learn how to reduce your landscape water usage, lowering your costs. We offer Free WaterSmart Classes, available virtually via Zoom or in-person at the Sylvan Ranch Community Garden.
Watering Wisely: Irrigation Tools & Scheduling Strategies
Saturday, June 21 from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Sylvan Oaks Library, Citrus Heights
Take the mystery out of home irrigation with this Citrus Heights Water District WaterSmart class. Come learn how to get the most out of your existing system to water more efficiently and effectively. We’ll explore the latest options in controllers, how to set a smart watering schedule, and which watering features are best for your needs. The class also covers boosting efficiency by converting existing spray systems to drip irrigation.
Along the way, we’ll explore the pros and cons of various sprinkler types and how thoughtful equipment choices can reduce waste and improve performance. Lastly, you'll learn about helpful tools and equipment for making repairs, managing valves, and keeping your irrigation system running smoothly. Whether you're a hands-on homeowner or just want to better understand your landscape’s watering needs, this class will give you the knowledge and confidence to water wisely.
DIY Dirtbag: A Guide to At-Home Composting
Saturday, September 13 from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
In-Person
Class description coming soon! Registration opens August 13, 2025.
Purple Rain Barrels: A Guide to Rainwater Catchment and Storage
Thursday, October 9 from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Online
Class description coming soon! Registration opens September 9, 2025.
WaterSmart Webinar Library
If you missed any of our WaterSmart classes, we offer a library of resources with workshop handouts and class recordings. View them for FREE from our Video Gallery page or subscribe to our YouTube channel and get notified when a new video is posted.
This WaterSmart Class helped participants learn how to keep their lawns looking great with less water, effort, and guesswork. The session covered how to fine-tune irrigation schedules to give grass just the right amount of water—without waste or sprinkler runoff. Attendees also learned about different sprinkler heads and which ones worked best for various yard types. The class explored the differences between warm-season and cool-season grasses, introduced drought-tolerant varieties, and discussed organic fertilizing methods to keep soil healthy. Whether participants were lawn care pros or simply trying to keep their grass alive, this class offered practical tips for creating a thriving, water-wise yard with less hassle.
Workshop Handouts
Ready to kick off your spring garden? Watch this recording of our hands-on Beginner Seed Starting class led by the Citrus Heights Water District’s Garden Corps and UC Master Gardener Ruth Ostroff.
In this session, participants learned how to:
- Start seeds indoors with simple techniques
- Choose the right vegetables, flowers, and herbs for spring planting
- Plan and grow a successful garden from scratch
Whether you're new to gardening or just need a refresher, this class is packed with tips to help your plants thrive. Materials and live planting demonstrations were provided during the in-person event, but you can still follow along at home!
Workshop Handouts
Get ready to put your landscaping plans into action with the WaterSmart class "D.I.Y. Dos & Don’ts for Your Landscape." We’ll start by discussing the right way to plant and stake your greenery (only if necessary), ensuring strong and stable growth. Furthermore, the class will teach exactly what your plants need (and don’t need) to thrive, and explore the best irrigation options for different plant and soil types. Then you’ll discover the art of pruning with purpose—what to do, what to avoid, and which tools to use for each job. Finally, we’ll discuss when it’s best to bring in an expert and point you toward helpful resources. Whether you’re a DIY enthusiast or just looking to fine-tune your gardening approach, this class will equip you with the know-how to create and maintain a thriving, beautiful landscape.
Workshop Handouts
"Purposeful Planning for Your Landscape” is a class designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to create a plan that guides your landscaping, resulting in a beautiful and sustainable outdoor space! The course will delve into the fundamentals of a waterwise approach to landscapes, focusing on eco-friendly practices that protect water quality and enhance soil health. Furthermore, the class will discuss strategies for building a resilient landscape that can withstand California’s variable climate. Join us to transform your outdoor space into a resilient, water-wise, and vibrant haven.
Workshop Handouts
Want a beautiful, cooling tree in your yard but also want to save water and keep maintenance low? Or maybe you have trees but aren't sure how to care for them? Join Sacramento Tree Foundation's arborist Pamela Sanchez to learn about the best trees for our region and easy-care tips. Saving water and growing thriving trees go hand in hand when you combine the right species with smart irrigation techniques and low-water landscapes, creating the perfect shady environment. Pamela, an ISA Certified Arborist with a degree in Urban Forestry from UC Davis and over 10 years of experience, will show you how to create a cool, water-wise yard. Pamela’s passion for connecting people with their urban canopy makes this workshop a must!
Workshop Handouts
Join Master Gardener Debby Dunn as she delves into the art of creating vibrant outdoor spaces that not only dazzle the eye but also nurture and support our invaluable pollinators. This course will explore the essential principles and practices of landscaping aimed at attracting and sustaining pollinators such as bees, birds, and butterflies. Furthermore, specifics such as when to plant, where to plant, and how to maintain these landscapes will be covered. Come learn how to cultivate flower power in your gardens, yielding not only beautiful bouquets for your home but also fostering thriving ecosystems for our pollinator friends.
Workshop Handouts
Early spring is the perfect time for seed starting and garden planning. Course participants will plant alongside the instructors and leave the class with two newly started plants. Then, discover how these seed starting techniques can be used for other plants. Participants will also learn about vegetables, flowers, and herbs to plant in the spring season.
Workshop Handouts
Have you ever impulsively bought a plant and then wondered where to plant it in your landscape? Stumped on how to choose plants that will thrive together? Wondering how often to irrigate? Hydrozoning is a great design approach that will help plants thrive, save water and take some of the mystery out of irrigation. In this webinar you’ll learn:
- Tools for knowing the water needs of plants
- How to identify hydrozones in your yard
- How to irrigate your hydrozones
Workshop Handouts
The District is excited to introduce landscape expert Johnnie Mitchell for a hands-on "Get In Line with Drip Irrigation" class. The class will cover the two main types of drip irrigation emitters, which have different benefits and are used for various applications. Some of the more common applications for residential properties will be covered to give you an idea of how you can use drip irrigation in your own yard. Join us in person so you can see working examples of the different types of drip irrigation. So, get in line to see what you are missing when it comes to drip irrigation.
Compost, mulch, and other horticultural practices applied appropriately will inspire collaboration between your plants' roots and soil biology to develop a diverse living soil ecosystem where all can flourish. Healthy living soils yield vibrant, drought and pest-resistant plants that require less maintenance and irrigation while reducing or eliminating pest problems. Discoveries to be made while attending this webinar include:
- Dusting off the dirt to reveal the functions of a healthy “living” soil food web and how you fit in.
- Tools and techniques that allow you to engage with the living soil to help them nurture your plants.
- Transforming green waste into a resource is best done at home. It’s time to retire that green/organic waste bin. Master how to cook handcrafted compost into the best soil amendment available, for free.
- Unearth the good, the bad, and the snuggly aspects of mulch:
- How mulch creates a "worm" and cuddly home for plant roots as well as providing a myriad of other perks.
- What materials make a good mulch and others best to avoid?
- Guidelines for mulch application to obtain the maximum benefits while avoiding potential pitfalls.
Colossal Compost and Miraculous Mulch will assist you in creating a Spectacular Soil full of happy, healthy, drought and pest-resistant plants, animals, and other yet undiscovered life forms that reside below your feet. Register and attend this webinar so you can transform your dirt into a soil symphony.
Workshop Handouts
From Greywater to Green Garden: How to Reuse Your Home's Water to Help Your Garden Thrive
Is greywater right for you? Come find out with this course. Learn about the two primary greywater system types, including methods, materials, components, and costs. In addition, the course will cover California code definitions, limitations, and specifics, along with resources for a DIY no-permit laundry to landscape system. Lastly, learn about trees and plants that love greywater, and your local water data source to determine your indoor and outdoor gallons per day usage. The course will end with a Q & A session.
Spring into Seasonal Vegetable Gardening
Did you know that spring is the best time to plant your summer vegetables? It's never too soon to start thinking about what to grow this season. In this class, we will cover the following topics to help you get off to a good start with your seasonal vegetable planting:
- Timing: When to plant your seeds and plants
- Seed starting techniques
- Tips for a successful growing season
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and get notified when the recording for this class is posted!
Fall for Native Plants: Incorporating the Region's Flora into Your Garden
Fall is one of the best times of the year to establish new plants and update your garden. This season, consider planting native flora and learn how to do it from garden expert Christine Lewis. This in-person class will detail:
- Why fall’s weather allows for ideal planting conditions
- How to use native plants to attract pollinators
- What native plants are ideal for the region
- How to use native plants to make your landscape more drought tolerant
Workshop Handouts
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and get notified when the recording for this class is posted!
So You Planted A Garden, Now What?
Come and learn from landscape expert Jessy Parker and master gardener Ruth Ostroff as they discuss the challenges of adapting your garden through the seasons. This in-person class will discuss a basic planting plan for winter gardens including:
- Vegetable selection
- Timing of planting
- Soil preparation
- Planting methods and potential challenges
Workshop Handouts
- Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
- A Seasonal Guide to Vegetable Planting
- Planting Cole Crops
- Sacramento Vegetable Planting Schedule
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and get notified when the recording for this class is posted!
Turning Dirt into Gold: How to Build Healthy Soil
Nurturing soil is one of the best things you can do as a gardener. Plants thrive in soil that is teeming with life. Learn from soil expert Kit Veerkamp why this really matters and how to modify your soils to improve plant health, reduce water use, and minimize disease and pests. This webinar includes topics on:
- Soil basics: texture and structure
- The soil food web – making it work for you
- The roles of compost and mulch
- Making room for ground-dwelling beneficial insects and pollinators
Workshop Handout
Sprinkler Tune-Up Time
Now that the rainy season is over, it’s time to turn your sprinklers back on. How can you ensure you’re using water efficiently, especially while we’re still in a drought? In this class, sprinkler expert Jessy Parker will show you tips and tricks to visually check your irrigation system for long-term problems and simple hands-on steps to get your sprinklers “tuned-up” for spring.
Capturing That Rain for Your Landscape
When is it going to rain? Good question, and when it does, you’ll be ready to capture it, slow it, and keep it in your garden and out of storm drains. In this webinar with Cheryl Buckwalter, you’ll learn ways to hold onto this free resource and use it to give your soil and plants the water they need to stay healthy, even during unpredictable changes in our weather.
Workshop Handout
Growing Our CHWD Garden: A Look Back - And Forward
One year ago, Citrus Heights Water District constructed a demonstration garden at the Sylvan Ranch Community Garden. In this in-person event, we review our garden progress and learn from Plant & Water Efficiency expert Debby Figoni on:
- Water-efficient plant selection.
- How to care for your garden and landscape.
- How to deal with pests and other issues.
- How to create and maintain an efficient irrigation system.
Workshop Handouts
Tree Care 101
Trees provide beauty, a sense of place, shade, wildlife value, sequester carbon, and clean the air. In this information-packed webinar, first you’ll learn how to choose, purchase, and plant your young tree. Next, discover how to care for your tree by using smart watering and effective pruning strategies.
The Perfect Plants: What, Where & When
Find the perfect plants for your landscape with CHWD’s how-to’s: What to Plant, Where, and When. Our water efficiency pros will help you understand the basics of gardening in the Sacramento region, one step at a time.
Workshop Handouts
Garden-Friendly Pest Management, Weed Control & Soil Management
Learn about proper soil management methods and eco-friendly strategies you can use to reduce the invasion and support healthy soil and thriving, pest-resistant plants.
Smart Controller Basics
WaterSmart Gardens: Winterize Now, Prepare for Spring
Learn how to prepare your Sacramento Valley garden and yard for our Sacramento Valley winters with simple, water-saving tips presented by two local designers and watershed-wise landscape pros. Winter is the time to get a head start on creating a healthy garden for the coming spring and summer. You’ll learn what to do and understand why to apply these tips in your own WaterSmart garden including irrigation checks and fixes, plant maintenance, and mulch and soil amendments that ensure a healthy, bountiful, pest- and drought-resistant WaterSmart garden in the growing season ahead.
DIY Home Water Audit, From the Inside Out
Learn how to be more water efficient by completing your own indoor and outdoor home water audit. Participants will learn how to check for plumbing leaks and inefficient appliances inside the home, along with hearing valuable water efficiency tips. For their outdoor space, participants will learn how to check for mainline leaks, assess their irrigation and program a smart irrigation controller. In addition, find out about Citrus Heights Water District’s cost-saving water efficiency programs and rebates.
WaterSmart Show Stoppers: Meet the Plants
Now that you have a great support team (soil and efficient irrigation) working for your landscape, you can choose plants that support your yard’s own ecosystems! Plants that require less water and maintenance to thrive; plants that provide a rich habitat for pollinators and birds; and plants that create beauty. Create a beautiful, beneficial, bountiful, pest-resistant and drought-buster garden with great plants!
Workshop Handout
WaterSmart Irrigation: The Soil and Water Relationship
You’ve learned about healthy soil. The new step for a WaterSmart landscape is to unite efficient irrigation strategies with your soil type. Water moves and acts differently depending on the soil. Learn how to use low-flow drip layouts that will work best for your soil. Soil and water can work together to meet your plants’ needs while managing your water use.
Workshop Handouts
WaterSmart Foundation: Healthy Soil, Happy Landscape
Learn how to create a healthy, living soil to nourish your plants and yield a bountiful, beautiful, pest- and drought-resistant garden and landscape. Healthy soil is the foundation of every WaterSmart landscape.
Workshop Handout
WaterSmart Basics: Putting Your Green Plan Together
This webinar will take you through the process of creating a landscape plan using site information and a base plan for an actual landscape project. You’ll also learn how to make design decisions for irrigating efficiently, grouping and placing plants for optimum health, keeping water on your property by shaping the soil, and turning challenges into opportunities. Now you’ll have the ability to create a River-Friendly plan for your own yard. Webinar includes Q&A time and online resources.
Workshop Handouts
WaterSmart Basics: Groundwork for Creating Your Green Plan
Using an actual landscape project that’s designed based on River-Friendly Principles, we’ll step through the building blocks for creating your own Green Plan. Learn how to assess existing conditions: Soil, irrigation, slopes, water from roofs/surfaces, sun exposure, and plants because all parts of your landscape work together. Methods for how to measure your yard, consider its function, and identify challenges will be presented. You’ll learn how to use this information to create a base plan, the foundation of your design. Webinar includes Q&A time and online resources.
Workshop Handouts
Board of Directors Meeting
The Citrus Heights Water District Board of Directors meets at least once per month. Click here for information on upcoming Board of Directors Regular meetings.
Customer Advisory Committee
To help plan the future of water in our community and ensure that the alternatives considered address the needs and input from the communities we serve, CHWD has formed a Customer Advisory Committee (CAC). This committee works with a technical team to consider options to replace water mains and meters while analyzing key financial and technical issues. For more information on the CAC, please visit here.
Demonstration Garden
CHWD has developed a demonstration garden to help our customers make water-efficient plant choices. Visit our Garden page to explore the six planter boxes with different landscape themes; from Low Water California Native Plants to Moderate Water Edibles. The aerial garden photo on the page can be used as an education tool to help you choose water-efficient plants for your yard and garden.
