Texas’ frequent and inescapable droughts haven’t seemed to slow its growth. As people flock to our state, it follows that more of our limited water will be used on lawns. Studies have found that homeowners tend to overwater their lawns by two to three times the needed amount, which means much of this water will be wasted. With Texas’ rising growth and increasing uncertainty in our rainfall patterns, it’s clear that we need to be thinking proactively about our water resources.
Water conservation is especially relevant as we see large cities like Cape Town, South Africa in the news for coming close to running out of water. Here in Texas, the 2011 drought was a reminder to everyone that water should not be taken for granted. To ensure that we have enough water for our growing cities, environment, agriculture and industry, we need to turn to the most cost-effective water management strategy available: conservation. As we search for conservation strategies with the greatest savings potential, we should look to our lawns.
The amount of water that single-family households in Texas currently use to water their yards could fill 590,000 football fields with one foot of water. This presents a big opportunity to save water; one promising way to achieve those savings is through ordinances that limit outdoor irrigation to no more than twice per week… Read more from TribTalk.org
Securing Texas’ water future, one lawn at a time
