CLCA Landscape Water Manager Certification —
Performance Program

To become fully certified as a CLCA Water Manager, participants must complete one year of satisfactory performance on at least one job site, in addition to passing the Written Test.

Performance Program participants must have direct responsibility (sign-off responsibility) for the irrigation schedule on enrolled sites. The actual setting of the irrigation controller and any irrigation upgrades may be delegated to someone else. For example, a homeowner or company owner may delegate the task of changing the controller and upgrading the irrigation system to a landscape contractor and still be eligible for certification. Participants also may enroll the landscape of their own home. However, no more than one person can claim a given site for certification. To sign up for the Performance Program, contact John Moore by eamil at h2omanager@charter.net or by phone at (775) 225-7346.

Performance Program Description

Objective: Based on measured landscape area, CLCA develops a Landscape Water Budget that predicts a reasonable amount of water necessary to maintain the participating property in a healthy and viable condition. Successful completion at the end of one year fulfills the Performance Program component of certification.

Please click here for full details on establishing a Landscape Water Budget.

Participants will receive a monthly report that compares the actual water usage to the budgeted amount for each month and year-to-date. The report will also express water usage as a percentage of reference evapotranspiration (ETo).

Participation: Participants will be required to provide the following information:

  1. Site Information

    • Site name (a job name or other anonymous identification is acceptable)
    • Street address, city, and zip code (This information is needed to correctly identify the water use requirements by location.)

  2. Water Meter Information

    • Meter type: irrigation-only or mixed-use
    • Scale: cubic feet or gallons (Submittal of a digital photo of the meter register is recommended when enrolling your site.)
    • For residential sites with mixed-use meters, please provide the necessary information to enable CLCA to calculate the estimated indoor usage. See Sites with Mixed-Use Meters on the Water Budget Development page for options on how to do that.
    • If the site has water features or ponds that are not independently metered and are supplied by the irrigation system or mixed usage meter, please provide the surface area so that deductions can be calculated for evaporation. (Although water features and ponds can instead be added to the turf measurements, CLCA prefers that you provide separate measurements for these elements because a higher possibility exists for their future submetering, elimination, or abandonment.)

  3. Water Meter Readings

    • Read and record the water meter reading plus or minus five days from the end of the month. The deadline for submittal to the program manager is the sixth day of the new month.

  4. Square Footage

    Measurements must be obtained for the following plant categories:
    • Turf and flowers
    • Shrubs and ground cover
    • Shrubs and trees (no ground cover)
    • Low water use plants
    • Water features

  5. Irrigation

    • Unless otherwise stated, it will be assumed that all irrigation is overhead spray or rotors. The default uniformity is .55 for spray heads and .65 for rotors. If the sprinkler type is not noted, the default uniformity for overhead irrigation is .60. If any portion of the irrigation is drip or subsurface, please provide separate square footage calculations for those areas.

  6. Comments

    • Please note any other conditions that you think are important in understanding and evaluating your site(s). These could include information about microclimate, prevailing wind, irrigation uniformity, or any other condition specific to the property. However, budget adjustments for site conditions are not allowed.

Year-End Water Bill

Beginning January 1, 2009, program participants must submit a year-end water bill to validate performance.

Eligibility Is Reviewed Quarterly

Certification eligibility is determined on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.

Water Meter Readings

Water meter readings must be submitted plus or minus five days from the end of the month. Readings submitted during this period will be considered end-of-the-month readings. The deadline for submittal is the sixth day of each month. Participants who miss this deadline will not receive a monthly water use requirement report. Failure to submit a water meter reading for three consecutive months will cause a participant's certification status to be suspended.

Submission of water bills covering the past 12 months may be submitted in lieu of monthly water meter readings to achieve the initial certification. However, maintaining a participant's certification requires that the participant continue managing the property and submitting meter readings on a monthly basis in accordance with the program requirements.

If Budget Is Not Met

If a candidate for full certification does not meet the water budget after 12 months in the program, full certification will not be granted.

For a participant who has been granted full certification, if, upon quarterly review, he or she is over budget for the previous 12 months, fully certified status will be suspended. This rule applies to both fully Certified Water Managers and Expert Certified Water Managers.

If Certified Status Is Not Granted for Failing to Meet Budget

If certified status is not granted for failing to meet the water budget, the participant will remain a provisionally Certified Water Manager if he or she has passed the written test and continues to report monthly meter readings when required.

If Certified Status Is Suspended for Failing to Meet Budget

If a participant's fully certified status is suspended for failing to meet the water budget, he or she will revert to provisionally certified status. The participant will be notified in writing of this change.

Substituting One Project for Another

If a participant no longer has control over a project due to a change of employer or the loss of a client, he or she has 90 days to enroll another project in the program.

At the next quarterly review, the participant will be judged on whether he or she met the water budget for the past 12 months using data from a combination of the two projects. Any data gap between management of the first and second project will be handled on a case by case basis.

Performance Program Fees

Performance Program fees have recently changed. See grid below, or call David Silva at (916) 830-2780 with questions.

CLCA Member Pricing Structure

TypeAnnual FeeSite feeSetup FeeTotalDescription
Level 1$100$40$25$1651 manager, 1 site
Level 2$500$0$0$5003 managers, 15 sites
Level 3$1,000$0$0$1,0005 managers, 50 sites
Level 4 (and for each additional increment)$500$0$0$5005 managers, 50 sites
Water Agency$0$0$0$01 manager, 1 site
Student$40$0$0$401 manager, 1 site

Non-Member Pricing Structure

TypeAnnual FeeSite feeSetup FeeTotalDescription
Level 1$200$80$55$3301 manager, 1 site
Level 2$1000$0$0$10003 managers, 15 sites
Level 3$2,000$0$0$2,0005 managers, 50 sites
Level 4 (and for each additional increment)$1000$0$0$10005 managers, 50 sites
Water Agency$0$0$0$01 manager, 1 site
Student$40$0$0$401 manager, 1 site

Fees for the Written Test

Regular (CLCA member)$100 Regular (Non-member)$200
Student Member$40 Water Agency$0

Nonpayment

Participants who drop out of the program due to nonpayment have 60 days to become current. If a participant does not become current with payments within that time period, the participant's certification status will be suspended.

Reinstatement for Nonsubmittal of Meter Readings and/or Nonpayment

To be reinstated, individuals must pay the unpaid fees, any fees that would have been charged between the time of suspension and reinstatement, and a $50 reinstatement fee. They also must resume submission of water meter readings if there was an interruption in their submittal.

Regaining Certification After Failing to Meet Budget

The manager regains certification status when the regularly scheduled quarterly review indicates that the site/sites is/are being managed at or below the water budget for the previous 12 months. Managers wishing to regain certified status before the next regularly scheduled quarterly review must pay an additional $50 fee to cover administrative costs.

Certified Water
Manager Program

Founding Partners

Ewing Irrigation Products Hunter Industries The Toro Company

Charter Partner

Horizon