With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees in late May, many homeowners are actively watering their landscapes to keep plants and trees alive.

Did you know that outdoor water use can account for 50 to 80 percent of a home's total water use in the spring and summer?

Much of this water is often wasted by inefficient landscape watering practices, including runoff.
With this in mind, HPWD encourages people to incorporate water-efficient practices into their landscapes to avoid water waste.

▪Add water efficient plant varieties into your landscape.  These plants are native or well-adapted to climate conditions in your area. Additional information is available
at texastreeplanting.tamu.edu and texassuperstar.com

▪Reduce water evaporation by irrigating at proper times.  Evaporation losses can be 60 percent or higher during the day. You can reduce this by irrigating in early morning or late evening.  Be sure to follow your town or city landscape watering ordinances, if applicable.

▪Do not water landscapes on windy days. Wind drift and evaporation increase water losses.

▪Consider use of drip irrigation to water narrow parkway areas or reduce turf in those areas with water-wise plant varieties that can thrive on less water.

▪Position sprinklers to avoid irrigating driveways and sidewalks. Check spray patterns for variations caused by changes in water pressure.

▪"Don't pray for rain--unless you take care of what you get." That's a philosophy that HPWD staff share with persons attending the district's annual rainwater harvesting workshops. Consider rainwater harvesting to collect and store water from the next rain for future use in your landscape. Find more information at rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu

▪Use mulch to retain soil moisture, reduce runoff, moderate soil temperature, and to slow weed growth.

▪Use a low-angle sprinkler that throws large drops of water—rather than one that sprays a fine mist of water that can evaporate quickly.

▪Homeowners with automatic sprinkler systems should regularly check spray nozzles to make sure they are operating properly.  Be sure to replace any broken sprinkler heads, valves, seals, or pipes.

▪Adjust the run time and frequency of automatic landscape sprinkler systems in response to changes in rainfall/temperature.

Remember -- "There's no substitute for water!  Use it wisely without waste!"