CONSERVATION CORNER

IS THERE A METHOD TO THE MADNESS?

Many of you may be wondering how CSD and DWP selected the outdoor water use restrictions included in the current outdoor watering regulations. Are we punishing everyone for a few water abuse sinners or are there sound, fundamental reasons for implementing these regulations? Believe it or not, it is the latter.

Water-wise landscaping. The first choice you can make to conserve water year after year is to commit yourself to xeriscape landscaping. Turf, although attractive, is very water consumptive. On the other hand, there are many landscape options that require little of no irrigation. These range from decks, walkways, and rock gardens to a variety of trees, shrubs, and perennial flowering xeriscape plants.

No watering between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm. This restriction is in place because watering during the warm, daylight hours requires more water to be less effective when watering your plants. In the middle of the day, as much as 50% of the water you apply to your lawn or garden can be lost to evaporation due to elevated air, ground, and vegetation temperatures.

Odd/even scheduling. Implementation of this restriction requires everyone to think about their irrigation schedule. You can no longer simply put it off until tomorrow. If you forget, you have to wait two days! This regulation also forces you to deep water so there will be moisture available for your plants on the off day. Deep watering, in turn, forces plants to develop deeper roots which makes them more drought tolerant.

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