How to Save Water with Your Irrigation System

The United Nations designated March 22 as World Water Day to focus on water conservation and to advocate its sustainable usage. Since clean water is a valuable resource, it’s important to take steps for its conservation, or else we will run out of it.

We use water in multiple ways. For example, drinking, cooking, bathing, washing clothes, watering lawns, etc. The use of clean water increases during summer, as people drink more water, fill their swimming pools and water their lawns more frequently.

To help you water your lawn efficiently, without wasting water, we have some irrigation tips that can be of use.

Water in the Early Morning—According to a recent study, 50% of the water used outdoors in Canada evaporates before serving any purpose. Water your lawn early in the morning (before 9:00 am) to avoid evaporation.

Aerate your Lawn—Dethatching and/or aeration of a lawn allows water to easily penetrate into the soil. It also allows air to reach the roots of the grass. Dethatching helps in removing dead grass, leaves, lateral weed growth and overcrowded grass roots that can repel water.

Install a Rain Sensor—Connect a rain sensor to your irrigation system to prevent it from running during rain storms. With the help of this sensor, the irrigation system automatically shuts down in the event of rainfall, thus saving water.

‘Mulch’ is required—Add a 2’-3’ deep layer of mulch to your shrub beds. A layer of mulch like almond hulls and wooden chips will help in reducing water use. It can conserve moisture, reduce weed growth and improve fertility of the soil.

Mow Long Grass—Mow your grass when it’s longer rather than shorter. Not only is mowing short grass not good for its health, but longer grass is also more resistant to drought and disease as it has stronger and deeper roots. These deeper roots find water and nutrients in the soil easily and don’t need much water from external source.

Use Drip-Irrigation—Drip irrigation systems save substantial amounts of water. It allows water to drip gradually to the roots of the plants through narrow tubes, pipes or valves. It minimizes evaporation and avoids wasting clean water.

A significant amount of freshwater gets wasted due to inefficient irrigation practices. Use water sensibly and conserve it before it’s too late. It is high time for us to go green with our lawns and our water usage.