THE HOME IS THE FASTEST AND BEST PLACE TO CONSERVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE, A SINGLE DRIP CAN BE A DANGEROUS THING...

Savings –
Conserving water around your landscaping could save you $50 a month

SPRINKLER WATER USE

• Maintain your sprinkler system frequently. Check for leaks, adjust spray nozzles so they are watering grass and not concrete, your house, or streets. This could save you over 500 gallons per month.
• Water during the morning and avoid evaporation. Water around 4AM and make sure the water soaks in.
• Set up multiple shorter watering cycles to allow for absorption.  Instead of watering for 10 minutes at one time, split into (2) 5 minute watering. This will allow for absorption and limit the possible run-off.
• Do not water your grass or plants everyday.  This hurts the grass or plants more than helps it.  When you water every other day, the roots will grow deeper and will become more self-reliant. Recommended to water your lawn after two or three days. Winter grass requires watering ever 3-5 days. This could save you between 750-1500 gallons a month depending on how large your lawn is.
• Only water your lawn when it is needed, you can tell this by walking across it. If foot prints are left in the blades of grass then it is time to water it, then repeat at the same spacing minus one day.
• Install a rain shut-off valve for your sprinkler system; this will turn off the next sprinkler cycle to eliminate unnecessary watering.
• For large areas of grass use a sprinkler system. For small areas and plants that are isolated, use a pitcher of water to limit waste.
• Don’t water your lawn on rainy, snowy, or windy.  There is no need to water a soaked lawn as well as sidewalks or driveways.
• When you kids need to cool off, use a sprinkler in an area that shows it needs more water.
• Bermuda grasses go dormant during the winter and only need watering every four weeks, less if it rains.
• Replace your sprinkler heads with those that spray large drops near to the ground. Small drops evaporate quickly.
• According to the season, adjust your sprinkling schedule to accommodate.
• Aerate you lawn every year. Aerating is when you punch holes into your lawn about 1 inch deep and about 6 inches apart. This allows the lower roots to gather more water and separates the soils to become more porous.
• Install a water-efficient drip system for trees, shrubs, and flowers. To be most efficient, water the root systems of these plants. Be careful not to over water.
• Pay a professional or blow out your sprinkler system every year.  Small leaks can form if your pipes freeze even a little bit so blow out your pipes and winterize your outdoor spickets. If you can’t winterize your spickets, insulate them with foam spicket caps. At 20 degrees your pipes and spickets can freeze and your pipes will burst.
• When you are watering your lawn with a sprinkler or hose time it with a kitchen timer.

LANDSCAPING WATER USE

• Avoid planting grass or other plants on steep slopes or in isolated area such as along sidewalks and driveways, these areas are hard to impossible to water.
• If you raise your lawn mower to its highest setting you grass will set its roots lower in the ground and the blades shade the root systems that are close to the top of the soil.
• Plant in the fall or spring when water requirements are low and the season is bringing on the rain.
• Use a layer of organic mulch or chips around plants to reduce evaporation. Also use a drip line and place the edge of drip tube within the branches of the plant. This should save hundreds of gallons a year.
• Use landscaping materials that are porous to avoid runoff.
• To save on watering, direct your rain gutter downspouts toward shrub and trees. For those that are not near plants collect water for the garden.
• Try to limit the amount of grass you plant in your yard, instead try to cover your lawns with rocks and mulch.
• When watering plants or grass that are on a steep slope use a drip system or soaker hose to help stop wasteful runoff.
• Group plants according to how much water they need and water them at the same time.
• Avoid fountains and other water features in your yard, especially those that spray water through the air.
• Fertilize your lawn during the last snowfall or around the first rainfalls of the season.  Fertilizer requires plants to drink more and rain takes care of that water they need.
• When you plan to replace a flower or plant, replace with a lower water consuming plant.
• If you are okay with zero-scape, plant Xeriscape trees, shrubs, and groundcover.
• Did you know that plants could die from over watering, even more than under watering? Only water when necessary.
• When cleaning out your pool and refilling it, pour the old water on the grass, don’t worry about the chlorine, by the time you are about to backwash, the chlorine would have dissolved or deluded.