Please Water Your Lawn...Responsibly

It is now time to start thinking about watering your lawn, trees, shrubs, and flowers. It’s starting to warm up and you are probably seeing a few lawns showing signs of dry spots. I watered my lawn for the first time since October on March 1^st. We want to strive to use our precious water resources responsibly which means not wasting it.

Broken Sprinkler --bradleygee

How do we waste water? Some people may over-water their landscape because they never shut it off during the winter months. Others may water during rainy periods. Some may have poor sprinkler coverage and water extra to help hide the weak spots. Others may not over-water, but they have sprinklers that spray driveways, walks, and city streets and water ends up in the culverts instead of the lawn. Some sprinklers are being blocked by plants and do not hit their intended targets, leaving a dry spot a few feet away, while at the same time, leaving a swampy lake at the base of the plant. Unfortunately, many homeowners turn on their irrigation clocks in March or April and turn them off in October or November with no seasonal adjustments addressing the temperature changes or the plant’s needs. Then there is the obvious geyser that is the result of broken lines, risers, or damaged sprinkler heads that roar through large quantities of water day after day until someone takes the time to fix it. These problems do not take care of themselves...really!

Okay, so where do you start. The very first day that you turn your irrigation clock to the on position, you should take the time to observe every sprinkler or emitter on every station. Note the patterns, coverage, and especially look for leaks or non-functioning heads. These need to be fixed immediately and checked periodically throughout the season. I would also recommend looking at the running time on each station to see if it is appropriate for the season and plant type. You should note if any runoff occurs and certainly make adjustments when you see the soil is too wet or too dry throughout the season. The City of Fresno and our website has information on the correct minutes per week broken down by month as a conservation guideline.

Water rates will soon climb much higher, so I would highly recommend looking at switching to more efficient smart time clocks and precision nozzles. The smart clocks and moisture sensors can help make logical seasonal adjustments to the plant’s needs and save significant amounts of water. Plants really don’t like too much water, or too little. The new lower precipitation nozzles really reduce runoff and have much higher water efficiency, especially over traditional spray nozzles.

We live in a desert and water is essential for growing plants and people. Let’s not waste it. For free assistance with sprinklers you may call the City of Fresno or Aqua Man, our new irrigation division. You can call Aqua Man at 475-7777, Weed Man at 266-1624 or check out our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com to find out more about irrigation or weed control.