Best Tips to Save Water
On this episode of Texas Yard Makeover, we’re looking at all the ways you can save water and still have a beautiful landscape. From how often you water to which plants you select. It all adds up to big water savings.
Train your lawn to drink less.
Many homeowners overwater their lawns, either watering too often or using way more water than necessary. You never need to water more than twice a week – even in the summer. If it’s rained, don’t water at all.
Know when to water. Keep your irrigation system off until it’s needed.
Following the free weekly watering advice you can sign up for here, will help you save thousands of gallons of water annually. The weekly advice takes weather conditions, rainfall and soil conditions into account to let you know how much water your lawn needs for the week. Homeowners who follow the watering advice can keep their irrigation systems off an average of 25 weeks out of the year.
Timing is everything.
Keeping your irrigation cycles short, six to eight minutes per cycle for spray heads and 12–14 minutes for rotors, will help minimize runoff and water waste. Try using “cycle and soak.” That means splitting up one long irrigation cycle into two shorter ones and allowing time in between (30 minutes to an hour) to give water a chance to soak in.
Turn it off when the rain is pouring it on.
If it’s raining or about to rain, turn your system off. Even better, make sure your system has a working rain sensor that will automatically turn the system off when it’s raining. It’s an easy way to reduce your overall outdoor water use by 5–10 percent.
See what happens at 5 a.m. – make sure your sprinklers aren’t misbehaving.
When was the last time you put some eyeballs on your irrigation system and checked to see that it’s working as it should, i.e., no mini-geysers or misdirected sprinkler heads? It’s a good practice to cycle through your irrigation zones every month to make sure you don’t have any broken or tilted sprinkler heads, and that they’re spraying in the right direction, not onto the street or sidewalk.
Save water in a big way by fixing small leaks. Check for and repair leaks inside and out.
Check toilet flappers, faucets, irrigation systems, and swimming pools and fix any leaks. Most leaks are an easy fix, and spending a few minutes repairing them could save you thousands of gallons of water per year.
Native plants: beautiful even when it’s dry.
Replacing water-thirsty plants with plants that are native or adapted to our region can help you save water. Native plants are drought-tolerant. They thrive in drier conditions, need less water, and are easy to maintain. As a bonus, they add diversity to the landscape attracting songbirds, butterflies, and other Texas wildlife.
Add mulch to the mix.
Placing a 2- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch (like shredded leaves, bark, or wood chips) in flowerbeds and around trees and shrubs helps the soil retain moisture, limits weed growth, and helps moderate soil temperatures. Mulch also helps prevent soil erosion and releases nutrients back into the soil as it decomposes.
Quick tip: When mulching around trees and shrubs, don’t pile it up against the trunk or stems of plants. This can lead to insect and disease issues.
Give your lawn a chance to reach for the sky.
Taller grass holds moisture better and slows down evaporation. It also encourages your lawn to grow deeper roots. As a rule, the higher the grass is cut, the deeper the roots go. And lawns with deeper roots can better endure the stress that comes with summer heat. A mowing height of 3 inches is a good all-around height for most grasses.
Additional ways to save water:
- Using drip irrigation to water flowerbeds and shrubs saves water by putting water directly near plant root zones, where the plants need it.
- Don’t water between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Up to 30 percent of the water sprayed on lawns during the heat of the day can be lost to evaporation.
Saving water is a big deal. Water provides value: public health protection, fire protection. Water is crucial to economic growth and our quality of life. We simply can’t live without water. And that’s pretty awesome.