Summer Watering Guidelines

Slightly more than half of the water we use is not for drinking, cooking, or bathing, but instead, it is used outside of our houses for our yards. This may not seem strange at first, but consider that throughout the year, your yard drinks more water than your entire family uses for everything inside the house. This is why we must be conscious of the water used for irrigation, as we must take measures to conserve this precious resource.

Simple things that you can do to conserve water:

• Check your sprinklers, hoses, and even indoor appliances, such as faucets and toilets, for drips or leaks 
• Install an automatic sprinkler irrigation system for your yard that is on a timer (see table below for recommended watering amounts)
• Set a schedule to only water up to 3 days/week, between 6 pm and 10 am
• Don’t water your yard during the hottest part of the day (from 10 am to 6 pm) 
• Don’t water during periods of high wind, and make sure to turn off automatic sprinklers if it is raining 
• Make sure that your sprinklers don’t spray water onto sidewalks and non-vegetated areas 
• Consider changing your landscaping to types that require less water, such as xeriscaping 
• Don’t spray water from the hose to clean your driveway or sidewalks- use a broom instead 
• Use a bucket and a sponge to wash your car instead of spraying it with a hose 

Total minutes per zone, per watering day. We recommend watering no more than three days a week and using Cycle and Soak when possible, which means you split the watering time given below into three shorter watering cycles done in one day.

 Winter Watering: October through April

During colder months, snow does a good job of keeping trees, shrubs, perennials, and lawns hydrated so you don’t have to. If it’s over 40 degrees and there’s no snow on the ground, you can water once or twice a month.

In addition to the above recommendations you may be interested in the Town’s residential water rate schedule, which utilizes a graduated per-unit cost system to further encourage conservation.
 
 For more information about summertime watering and the water needs of landscaping, please visit the following web sites:
Colorado State University - Xeriscaping
Colorado State – Lawn Care
Colorado WaterWise
Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District