Drought Watch: Water Conservation Tips
When a regional drought watch is in effect, here are some useful tips for Montgomery County residents and businesses on conserving water during drought conditions and year-round.
- Monitor watering lawns, plants and shrubs.
- Sweep sidewalks and driveways (instead of using a hose).
- Avoid washing your car, or instead use a commercial car wash that recycles water.
- Fix any plumbing leaks – especially toilets and faucets.
- Reduce shower length to under five minutes.
- Turn off water while brushing your teeth.
- Wash full loads of dishes and clothes.
Lawns
- Short lawns dry out faster. Short grass allows more sun to heat the soil and causes more water to evaporate. Keep grass cut no shorter than 4 inches, and plan to overseed it in the fall for denser grass.
- Grass only needs water when it’s newly planted. Frequent and shallow watering actually encourages weeds in a lawn. Turn off those sprinklers, keep the grass mowed above 4 inches, and overseed in the fall.
Visit: Organic Lawn Care
Native Plant Gardens
- Use water collected in your rain barrel to water your gardens. Don’t have a rain barrel? Learn how to install a rain barrel on your property!
- Established gardens with native plants generally do not need to be watered, but they will benefit from a little extra help in drought periods. Deep watering, once a week in the evening, is best in a drought. Provide 1” of water to the garden per week for 2 weeks if there have been 3 weeks with no rain. Let the sprinkler run and place a 1” deep can (e.g., tuna can) to see how long it takes to water 1” so you know how much time to water. Learn how to plant a native garden!
Visit: RainScapes Program
Trees
- Did you plant a tree this past spring or last fall? Newly planted trees need 25 gallons of water once a week in the heat of the summer. This deep watering gets water to the roots of trees below the grass.
- Established trees do not need watering during a drought. Trees not planted this past spring or last fall don’t need extra watering.
