Turning off your irrigation, or significantly reducing your irrigation, is an easy way to have big water savings. If you are unable to stop irrigating your landscape, the following steps can help with reducing outdoor water use:
- Thoroughly check your irrigation system to ensure there are no breaks, leaks, or water waste occurring when it is on or off.
- Only run sprinkler or spray irrigation systems on Monday and Thursday nights between 8 pm and 6 am.
- Schedule your drip irrigation to run between 8 pm and 6 am to reduce evaporation.
- Reassess your irrigation program weekly. Turn off irrigation in cool weather or when it rains.
- Use shorter run times to allow water to fully soak into the landscape and to reduce runoff.
- Use mulch to retain moisture.
- Hand water when needed instead of using an automatic irrigation system.
- Reuse warm-up or rinse water from sinks and showers/tubs to hand-water plants that need it.