Monthly Tip: August

Give your water use a vacation!

August is vacation time for many families, and with vacations come those last-minute checklists of items to do before you go. As part of your town’s on-going efforts to reduce the effects of polluted stormwater runoff, which is the water you see flowing down the street when it rains, there is one very important vacation reminder:

If you have automatic sprinklers for your lawn, please turn them off before you leave. Think of all the water that would be wasted, if it rained the entire time you were gone! And most established lawns are happy with one inch of water per week, including rainfall, so chances are that your lawn will be just fine while you’re away.

If you don’t have automatic sprinklers, there are still a few other tips for outdoor watering without waste:

• Adjust sprinklers so that they don’t water paved surfaces.
• Don’t water in the heat of the day. Watering early in the morning or in the evening minimizes the water lost to evaporation.
• Consider using slow-watering techniques such as drip irrigation or soaker hoses. They are considerably more effective than sprinklers at getting the water where it’s supposed to be.