Even before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s announcement of a statewide drought on Wednesday, officials at the East Bay Municipal Utility District and environmental organizations throughout the city have some tips to minimize water usage.

Here are a few of their tips:

-Don’t start any new landscaping
-Wait until the fall to plant or start new landscapes
-Add compost to soil to increase its water-holding capacity
-Add a 2-3 inch layer of recycled mulches to prevent the evaporation of water
-Use efficient irrigation systems, use self-adjusting timers
-When watering, use drip irrigation instead of sprayers
-Fix any leaks in irrigation system
-Invest in ways to harvest rain water
-Only water lawns that you use
-Water landscapes at dawn, dusk or in the middle of the night
-Fix leaky toilets

Source: EBMUD spokesperson Jeff Becerra and Teresa Eade, senior program manager with the Bay-Friendly Landscaping Program at stopwaste.org