The Santa Clarita City Council will decide Tuesday on projects that could save millions of gallons of sprinkler water - and hundreds of thousands of dollars - and pump thousands more gallons to the Newhall Library construction site.

The council will consider replacing 103 irrigation systems that control sprinklers along Santa Clarita streets. The change should save about 20 to 30 million gallons of water a year, said Technology Services Manager Kevin Tonoian.

About 400 sprinkler systems along Santa Clarita medians water about 720 acres of landscaping, Tonoian said. Some of the current sprinkler systems used by the city are 40 years old and waste thousands of gallons of water a year, he said.

Replacing the sprinklers would cost the city about $400,000, but the move could pay for itself in four to six years, Tonoian said.

"When we project inclement weather like we had (last) week, field staff are out there having to turn the majority of those controllers off manually," Tonoian said.

The new sprinkler controllers can also be controlled by a laptop and turn themselves on and off automatically based on current weather conditions. The controllers have sensors that detect moisture in the soil and collect weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Web site.

During the last couple of years, the city has begun replacing grass along city streets with native Californian plants that need less water, Tonoian said.

Officials hope to replace every irrigation control system within two years, he said.

While the city tries to save millions of gallons of water along Santa Clarita medians, the council will consider approving plans to get water flowing to the Newhall Library construction site.

The Santa Clarita Redevelopment Agency is requesting about $2.6 million to get water pumping to the proposed library site.

Officials from the Castaic Lake Water Agency and Newhall County Water District said they are required by law to install new water pipes before the $25 million library can be built.

The city will need to pay about $30,000 to the Castaic Lake Water Agency and about $2 million to the Newhall water district to pay for pipes that will get water pumping to the library.

The water district has to install fire lines around the library site before any construction can begin, said water district general manager Steve Cole. About a half-mile of pipe will need to be installed from Lyons Avenue to Railroad Avenue, he said.

Water will flow from an existing well to about six fire hydrants around the library site, Cole said. The pipe needs to pump about 2,700 gallons of water per minute-about twice as much water as a residential fire line needs to pump, Cole said.

Construction should begin at the end of February and last about three weeks, Cole said.