Turf grass accounts for over 40 million acres in the US, making it America’s largest irrigated crop. By some estimates as much as half of urban and suburban water consumption is due to the landscape irrigation. As demand for potable water increases, these water-subsidized landscapes will more and more difficult to justify. We can easily reduce landscape water consumption by one third or more just by eliminating overconsumption and waste. Irrigation systems can be made much more efficient through the use of low emission, drip and micro-irrigation systems. These systems typically use only about half as much water as traditional spray heads, and they apply the water at the soil surface, where it is needed. Typical spray system looses much of their water to evaporation and overspray. High volume applications often exceed the infiltration capacity of the soil, resulting in excessive runoff and leaching away of soil nutrients.  Rain, moisture and wind sensors can be installed on new and existing irrigation systems to prevent sprinklers from coming on during wet of windy periods.

Landscape plants should be installed which have low supplemental water requirements. Xeriscaping, the use of drought tolerant plant species, is often appropriate, but plants should be matched to the existing site characteristics. Native plants are adapted to the local climate and, if sited correctly, will need very little supplemental watering. Trees intercept rainfall, improving infiltration and their shade cools the soil and reduces evaporation. Natural mulch protects the soil, reduces evaporation and improves infiltration.

Because we have covered much of the land with buildings and paved areas, we have drastically reduced the amount of permeable surfaces in urban and suburban areas. This means that much less water percolates into the soil and enters the aquifer, and more water is channeled into surface drainage systems. This alteration of natural water cycles increases the expense of water management, and results in excessive amounts of sediment and pollution laden water dumped into streams and waterways. During peak storms, flood levels can be much higher due to the reduced infiltration caused by urbanization. The installation of permeable paving and water retention devices on one site may seem insignificant, but, if incorporated throughout a region, the reduction in runoff, erosion, sedimentation and stormwater would be considerable.

Examples:

• Drip Irrigation & micro-irrigation

• Install rain gages, moisture sensors and wind sensor devices

• Reduce or eliminate lawns

• Select Drought tolerant lawn grass species

• Select drought tolerant (xeriscape) plant materials

• Mulch to retain water

• Harvest rainwater & greywater for irrigation (where legally permissible)

•  Install permeable paving materials

• Reduce area of impermeable surfaces

• Apply stormwater best management practices to reduce runoff, erosion and sedimentation

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