Water Conservation Tips
Water conservation tips that everyone can use are important for homeowners all over the United States. It is almost a given that one area of the country or another will experience drought at some point during the growing season of a particular year. Some areas experience drought when rainfall amounts are not high enough during the summer. Other areas experience municipal water restrictions because their summer irrigation, drinking and bathing water comes from the snowmelt, and the previous winter saw little snowfall, hence less snowmelt. Regardless of your situation, it is always good to conserve water. We have a finite supply of fresh water, and with population growth, more pressure on that supply. Whether you are under water restrictions or not, here are some water conservation tips for homeowners caring for lawns and gardens.
Water Conservation in the Lawn
Grass plants are thirsty, and lawn irrigation takes a lot of water. Here’s how to get the best benefit of irrigation, while conserving water.
- Say it with me “Water deeply and infrequently.” This is the best piece of advice for lawn care, hands-down, even if you are not under water restrictions. Watering twice a week, giving the lawn an inch or a half-inch of water each time is much better for the grass than watering for fifteen minutes every day. Watering for a longer period of time less frequently puts more water in the soil, and encourages deeper root growth.
- Check your irrigation system monthly, or at the very least, quarterly. Make sure that you do not have any broken valves, sprinkler heads or pipes. One small leak in one sprinkler head can waste a lot of water.
- Let your grass go dormant during extremely dry weather. Most lawn grass types can withstand a bit of dormancy during the growing season and will bounce back, as long as it is not stressed by aeration, excessive foot traffic or fertilization.
- Consider removing some of the lawn and replacing it with drought-tolerant perennials.
- Water in the morning, before the sun is fully up to reduce evaporation.
- Do not water on windy days, as much more water is lost to evaporation than makes it down into the soil.
- Aerate and top-dress with compost at least once a year (but not in the middle of a severe drought). This improves the water-holding capacity of the soil, meaning less runoff.
Water Conservation in the Landscape and Garden
It is much easier to undertake a garden makeover to conserve water in the garden than it is to make a lawn drought friendly. Here’s how to conserve water while maintaining a beautiful garden.
- Plant drought tolerant perennials in landscape beds. (For more information on that, see our articles about drought tolerant plants for the sun and shade.)
- Mulch the beds with at least three inches of organic mulch in the spring and fall. Shredded, composted leaves, shredded bark, grass clippings or shredded newspaper are good mulches to aid with water retention.
- Use drip irrigation, or hand-water plants in the garden. This will allow you to put water directly at the root zone of the plants, and will use water most efficiently.
- Water the soil directly around the plants instead of watering over the plants. Plants cannot take in water through their leaves, so any water that lands on the leaves will just evaporate.
- Install a rain barrel at each down-spout to collect runoff from your roof for use watering plants.
- In times of dire water restrictions, save water while the shower or bath warms up to water plants.
It is possible to have a beautiful lawn and garden, even during times of water restrictions, if you use these water conservation tips.
