Conserve Water Without Sacrificing Your Landscape With These Drought Watering Tips
Did you know that summertime watering increases your water usage by more than 30%? While maintaining a beautiful landscape does require watering, many people water more than their yards really need, causing wasted water. Since the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recently issued a drought watch for parts of northwest NJ, we here at All Wet Irrigation & Lighting have a few tips for watering in a drought that will keep your yard gorgeous while reducing your water usage.
Drought Watch: What Does That Mean?
The drought watch means that our water supply is lower than normal but not low enough to be considered a drought. During a drought watch, residents are encouraged to follow wise water usage guidelines, however it is not mandatory.
Watering During a Drought: Best Practices
- An optimized irrigation system uses less water, so have All Wet perform an irrigation system inspection for leaks, broken sprinkler heads, and water flow issues. Over-watering not only wastes water and increases your water bill, it can also attract insects and kill your lawn due to the lack of 02.
- Look up your local wise water use schedules. These will tell you what days of the week you should be watering your landscape based upon your address.
- If you don’t already have a smart controller for your irrigation system, have All Wet install one. Smart controllers don’t just automate your irrigation system; they monitor the weather and automatically turn off your system when rain is forecast, reducing water waste.
- Water at night. You will be able to achieve the same result using less water, as the water won’t be evaporating in the heat from the sun.
- Switch to drip irrigation wherever possible. Drip irrigation provides extremely water-wise watering, using the least amount of water needed to maintain a healthy landscape.
- As the weather gets hotter, mow your grass on a higher setting. This allows the lawn’s roots to grow deeper and reach moisture further down in the soil. Taller grass also shades the soil, keeping it cooler and reducing evaporation. Mulching certain areas of your yard also hinders evaporation and maintains valuable nutrients in the soil.
With a drought watch in effect in northwest NJ, we all need to do our part to reduce water use. But you don’t have to sacrifice the beauty of your landscape to achieve water savings. Call All Wet Irrigation & Lighting for more great tips on watering during a drought. (973) 366-8754.