Summer Water Conservation

Water bills normally increase in summer because more water is used. However, the summer increase is even greater because the charge for each unit of water is also increasing with greater use.

Water rates are based on “units” of 100 cubic feet of water (748 gallons). The first five “100 cubic foot units” of water only costs $0.55 each. However those same “100 cubic foot units”, if you have already used 7,500 cubic feet or more, now cost $1.75 each.

If you water your lawn regularly, you will likely use enough water to bump up to the $1.75 rate. This means that for every hour your sprinkler runs, it costs you a dollar or more.

The Typical single family home seasonal bi-monthly bill: Winter = 2,000 cubic feet - $37.75; Summer = 4,600 cubic feet - $72.50. (See our Rates for more info.)

Why Should I Cut Back On Watering My Lawn?

Watering the lawn is almost always the largest user of water in a home. If you’re looking to save water it makes sense to focus on the big uses. It doesn’t get any bigger than the lawn. Over-irrigation, in general, degrades plant health by encouraging shallow roots.

Over-irrigation causes excessive run-off, which contributes to environmental pollution.

Water rates increase as you use more water. Water rates are based on “units” of 100 cubic feet of water (748 gallons) and increase progressively in price per unit. If you water your lawn regularly, you will likely use enough water to bump up the cost per unit rate.

Conservation is no longer optional. If we all demonstrate the wise use of our water we can avoid much stricter regulation by State and Federal authorities. For each gallon of water you save through conservation you save money on your water bill, reduce the need for costly new wells and storage tanks, help save endangered wildlife, and help preserve our beautiful environment.

Three basic steps to save water and your money are:

  • Water your lawn on alternating days, odd numbered dates if your address is an odd number and even dates if your address is an even number.
  • Water when it benefits your lawn the most – early in the morning or late in the evening – never between noon and 9 PM.
  • Turn off automatic sprinkler systems when it rains!!!

Grass Facts:

  • An acre of grass is the equivalent of a seventy-ton air conditioner—returning over 2,400 gallons of water to the atmosphere on a warm, sunny day.
  • A twenty-five-square-foot patch of grass supplies enough oxygen to support an adult.
  • Grass takes in carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, hydrogen fluoride, and peroxyacetyl nitrate-the worst group of atmospheric pollutants—and returns the true breath of life: pure oxygen.
  • The grass and trees along the interstate highway system alone manufacture enough oxygen to support 22 million people.
  • Of all the plants, grasses are the most important to man. All of our breadstuffs (corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, and sugarcane) are grasses.

Summer Conservation Check List

Please use the following list of tips for maintaining a green lawn with less water through proper irrigation. This conserves water, helps control your water bill, while still keeping your lawn and garden green and healthy.
Tips For a Green & Water Wise Lawn
  • Lawn chemicals are unnecessary if safe and effective alternatives are used. Chemicals not only weaken the lawn and garden plants, but they can contaminate the aquifers that provide us with drinking water. Many insects and diseases also become resistant to the harsh chemicals and become much harder to control.
  • Remove only one third of the grass length at each mowing. Try to mow weekly in spring—cutting too much at once stresses the grass. Leave the clippings on the lawn. Grass recycling provides free fertilizer (at least 1/4 of your lawn’s needs), helps lawns grow greener and denser, and doesn’t cause thatch buildup. You can recycle grass with your existing mower. For best results, keep the blade sharp, mow when the grass is dry, and mow a little more often in the spring. Clippings left scattered on the surface will break down quickly - if there are clumps mow again to break them up.
  • Aerate compacted and heavy traffic areas. Again spring or fall are the best times.
  • Using proper soil preparation and lawn maintenance practices will help to build healthy soil and vigorous, deep-rooted lawns. These lawns are more resistant to disease, tolerate some insect and drought damage, and will out compete many weeds.
  • Raise mowing height. Mowing height affects water use! A higher mowing height deepens root systems, strengthens lawns, and reduces water needs.
Lawn Watering
  • Water sparingly. The typical lawn needs just an inch of water per week including natural rain. The 1 inch per week watering rate also encourages deep root growth. If top soil is thin water 1/2" twice a week. A tuna can set in the yard is an easy way to measure watering amounts. An inch of water a week is about 60 minutes of sprinkling total over your lawn, or about 30 minutes twice a week.
  • Water At Night Make sure you only water when the sun is down to reduce evaporation losses. Many irrigation experts feel the best time to water is between midnight and 6 a.m. because evaporation is kept to a minimum. This also decreases the risk of fungal infections, and reduces moss growth. If you are watering during the afternoons, half is lost to evaporation!
Other Outdoor Water Saving Tips
  • Only water on even or odd days, based on your house number.
  • Adjust your sprinkler heads so you are only watering landscape areas not the road or sidewalk.
  • Use a hose nozzle when washing your car or for hand watering plants. A hose left running as you wash a car wastes up to 15 gallons a minute.
  • Don’t water roads, driveways, and sidewalks — just landscaped areas.
  • Use 3 to 5 inches of organic mulch around trees and plants to reduce weeds and prevent water loss. If water runs off your lawn easily, split your watering time into shorter periods to allow for better absorption.
  • Watch for water run-off, if it’s running off, stop watering.
  • Consider hand watering landscape and garden areas using a hose and nozzle or a watering can.
  • Consider washing your car on the lawn. The water does double duty, both washing and watering.
  • When children finish playing in water, sprinklers etc. remember to turn off the water.
  • Clean sidewalks and driveways with a broom rather than a hose.