How to Keep Your Landscape From Soaking You!

Outdoor water usage can consume up to 70 percent of a household’s water. That’s why the easiest way to save water around your home is in your landscape. The Utilities Department offers a variety of guidelines that will save you water while keeping your landscape healthy and beautiful.

Our Water – Use It Wisely mascot, Wayne Drop, has created the blue links below to guide you to variety of resources that will help “drop” your water use:

• Watering Guidelines: Give your plants enough water to stay healthy, but not too much. Recent studies from local universities have found that landscapes are watered two to five times more than needed, so this is an area where water saving potential is greatest.  Make sure you water thoroughly at each watering, but allow the soil to dry out in between irrigations (days in between waterings can reach up to 30 days for some desert plants). To help better determine how much water is needed for your plants, get a free copy of Landscape Watering by the Numbers: A Guide for the Arizona Desert. Request a copy of the booklet from the Publications Page, or for an online version, visit  wateruseitwisely.com.
   
• Monthly Watering Reminder: You can reduce your landscape watering 30 to 50 percent by adjusting your irrigation each season. For monthly updates on changing your watering schedule, sign up for our Landscape Watering Reminder e-mail or visit our online version at our monthly watering reminder page.
   

• Control Your Controller: If you don’t have an electrical engineer in the house, or an eleven-year-old, programming your timer can be very confusing. Get an idea of the basics of programming at the Watering Hole.
   

• Free Booklets and Guides: Watering is just part of the picture. Saving water in the landscape may involve your landscape style (grass vs. desert), your plant selection, or other landscape features (swimming pools, etc.). Find all of our free water conservation publications, such as a desert plant selection booklet, landscaping guides, and water saving tips for pools by visiting our Publications Page.