It might not seem like a big deal to water the lawn in the hottest part of the day or ignore that sprinkler that’s overflowing onto the sidewalk, but those individual choices add up to a massive amount of wasted water when counted with everyone else who’s doing it.
Conserving water at home or your business benefits more than just the local water supply, it reduces your monthly water expenses. Done right, using less water may even make your landscaping look better.
“When you’re paying for it by the gallon, it makes sense to get your money’s worth out of every drop,” said Oscar Maciel, water operations manager at Clark Public Utilities. “You’d be surprised at how much you can save by cutting back, even just a little.”
In summertime, the lawn is typically the largest water consumer in the household, but they often receive more than they need.
Most lawns only require an inch of water per week. Too much water can actually damage the grass.
Automatic sprinkler systems are convenient, but they’re rarely used efficiently. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, homes with automatic irrigation systems can use 50 percent more water outdoors than those without.
Much of that is due simply to overwatering. We’ve all seen sprinklers running during a rainstorm at one time or watched rivulets running off the grass and into the street on another.
If you don’t have one already, invest in a WaterSense labeled controller to rein in your irrigation. Those controllers use local weather data to determine when and how much to water. The EPA says those systems can reduce water use by around 15 percent.
Like every tool, irrigation systems are prone to equipment failures and fatigue and require occasional inspection and maintenance. Broken or leaking sprinkler heads can waste water by the gallons and burn through your dollars. A working backflow device is critical to protecting your community’s groundwater supply. If you see them leaking, fix them or call a professional.
If you need to hire a pro, select one who is WaterSense certified. They are trained to audit, install and maintain systems to provide just the right amount of water and not a drop more.
It’s also important to remember gardens and ornamental landscaping might require different amounts of water than a lawn. Careful gardeners know how much water their plants require and irrigate accordingly. It doesn’t do your garden or your budget any good to water everything the same when different plants may have significantly different needs.
Drip irrigation systems are good solutions for gardens and landscaping. Because they’re designed to target specific plants with a slow steady drip over time they lose very little water to runoff or evaporation. Plus, they’re easy to install.
Watering by hand is more work but it puts you in control of how much water your property gets. Plus, water efficient and environmentally friendly attachments are widely available online and at home and garden stores.
No matter how you water, do it in the early morning or evening when it’s cool and risks for evaporation are less.
For more water conservation tips, visit our website or call our water utility at 360-992-8022.
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
