Summer Water Conservation Tips

6/12/2019 (Permalink)

We at SERVPRO of West Amarillo know that the summer heat is officially here! This means playing in the sprinkler, yard maintenance, and your water bill possibly increasing! Here are a few tips on lowering your water usage, as well as helping with water conservation in our area:

• Adjust Sprinklers to where they aren’t watering any pavement/concrete. It sounds silly, but it’s more common to waste water this way than you think!
• Water your yard or garden before 10:00am or after 6:00pm. This is when the temperatures are lower and evaporation is minimal, meaning that the soil will better retain the water.
• Inspect your irrigation system if you have one. Check for leaks, broken lines, or blockage in the lines. A well-managed system will save you money, water, and time.
• Add a shutoff nozzle to your garden hose. This saves approximately 5 to 7 gallons of water for each minute that your hose is turned on.
• Do not overwater! If you are concerned that your lawn/garden isn’t being watered sufficiently, water more frequently using less water, rather that overwatering and causing puddling. Puddling is pointless in the sense that it could drown plants, the soil obviously cannot retain all the water, and this only causes the water to eventually be evaporated and wasted.
• Raise your lawnmower blades. Again, this probably sounds silly, but longer grass promotes deeper root growth, resulting in a more drought-resistant lawn, cooler soil temperatures due to the sun not being able to penetrate to the soil (this reduces evaporation), and fewer weeds.
• Give the hose a rest! Clean patios, driveways, and sidewalks with a leaf blower or broom when necessary, rather than hosing them off. Don’t forget to check for leaks around your spigot area and perform maintenance on leaks and drips.

SERVPRO of West Amarillo thanks you and we hope that you all have a fantastic summer!