The Water Authority urges residents and businesses to turn off their irrigation systems and leave them off for up to two weeks following a storm that delivered significant rainfall across the region this week. A few rainy days can provide enough water for lawns to survive for weeks without irrigation, and they provide a valuable chance to save stored water supplies for next summer when water reserves will be even more important.

After storms pass, do not begin watering again until the top one to two inches of soil are dry. Lawns that lose their lush green luster will rejuvenate with the next rain.

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Grand prize winners Steve and Susanne Tait of San Diego won two round-trip tickets generously donated by Southwest Airlines for their story about saving up to 80 gallons of water a week by collecting water flushed through their water purifier and using it to irrigate plants. That practice allowed the Taits to turn off some of their irrigation stations -- a big step for water conservation. The Taits also made changes to their landscape through the Water Authority's WaterSmart Turf Replacement Program, which provided a rebate for replacing more than 640 square feet of water-intensive turf grass with landscaping more suited to the region's semi-arid climate.