Water Conservation Facts For Your Landscape

Outdoor Water Conservation
Water Saving Tips - Rainbird Irrigation

Water Conservation Facts: Irrigation Tips

So, your lawn's to the point where it's drying out and turning brown. Grass lawns will go dormant during times of drought, and recover after sufficient rainfall. But if you want your lawn to stay green during dry periods, you're going to have to water.

Following these simple tips will help you see the best results with the least amount of water:

Water Conservation Facts: Irrigation Systems

If your budget allows, consider installing an irrigation system. By monitoring soil and air conditions, these systems will help you manage your water usage and not run the water when it isn't needed. Here are some ways an irrigation system can save you lots of water:

Water Conservation Facts: Rainwater Harvesting and Greywater

For those looking to maximize water conservation even further, rainwater harvesting and greywater are becoming more popular.

Rainwater Harvesting: Collecting rain that falls on your home can be a great source of irrigation water. This can be as easy as a small rain barrel connected to a hose or as complex as an underground cistern connected to an irrigation system. Some areas have regulations limiting or banning rainwater harvesting, so check your local area before investing any amount of money in a large system.

Greywater: Greywater is household wastewater that is reused for irrigating outdoor areas. 50% of the water used in U.S. homes goes right down the drain from sinks, showers, toilets, dishwashers, and washing machines. The water that doesn't contain human or food waste (water from showers, sinks, and washing machines) can be diverted into the yard, greatly reducing water usage.

There are levels of complexity with greywater systems, from untreated systems for deep-root watering, to filtered greywater for drip irrigation, to treated greywater that can be applied to a lawn.

Greywater systems can be costly, and requires special plumbing to separate greywater from its nasty counterpart, blackwater, which should be sent to a wastewater plant where it belongs.

Like rainwater harvesting, greywater systems are not allowed in many areas, although they are starting to be approved in more and more areas, especially in areas prone to drought.

With careful planning, and a little bit of common sense, you can have the outdoor space of your dreams to compliment your green home, without an excessive amount of water. Protecting this precious natural resource is paramount for the design of any yard. Water is a limited resource, and there are billions of people in the world today that don't get enough to live on; doing our part to conserve as much as possible is the least we can do.

For more water conservation tips in the landscape, visit our article: Water Saving Tips

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