Water Conservation

Save Water and Money

Just one broken or missing sprinkler component could waste as much as 1,000 gallons per week. The City of Kyle is committed to helping you save water and money during times of drought. Avoid watering the sidewalk and wasting water due to misting by performing your own sprinkler checkup.

If you update your system, remember that the WaterSense label identifies products that have been certified for water efficiency and performance.

Water-Saving Tips

Water-Smart Landscaping

Replace your thirsty turf grass with WaterSmart alternatives by utilizing the City’s new rebate.

Mulch

Mulching your trees and landscape beds helps retain moisture from rain and watering, improve the soil that supports plant health, and regulate soil temperature during our hot summers.

Know Your Controller

Head into the garage to ensure your irrigation controller is set to Cyclic or Interval watering. Use online tutorials to ensure your irrigation schedule follows the City’s current watering restrictions.

Cycle and Soak

Split your runtime into shorter intervals that add up to the total runtime, and allow the water to soak into the soil. For example, use 3 cycles of 5 minutes each, with 30 to 60 minutes in between. Speak with an irrigation professional to learn the right intervals for your lawn and soil.

Issues to Look For

Misting

Wind can blow it away and keep water from reaching your lawn.

Solution: Ask your irrigation professional to check the water pressure.

Leaks

Look for water pooling on the surface or spraying where it should not.

Solution: Flag the location of each leak or break and contact an irrigation professional.

Broken or Missing Sprinklers and Drippers

Look for missing sprinklers, ones that do not pop up, or small geysers.

Solution: Flag the broken component and contact an irrigation professional.

Sprinklers Aimed Incorrectly

Look for overspray or spray outside the landscape.

Solution: Turn the nozzle to face the correct direction.

Poor Sprinkler Coverage

Spray should reach the next sprinkler head in the system.

Solution: Adjust the spray distance and direction of the nozzle to ensure head-to-head coverage.

Irrigation Schedule Not Adjusted for the Seasons

Set your system to a weather-based mode or follow a seasonal schedule.

Solution: Select weather-based mode on the controller if available, or change the schedule as the season changes.

• Shower to save water. A bath typically uses up to 50 gallons of water, whereas a five-minute shower will use only 10-25 gallons depending on the efficiency of your showerhead.
• Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the water run until cool. A running faucet can use about two gallons of water per minute.
• Turn off water while you brush your teeth.  You can save as much as four gallons of water by simply turning off the water when you brush your teeth. If you brush your teeth in the morning and at night, that adds up to saving 200 gallons of water a month. The same is true when you wash your hands or shave.
• Wash only full loads of clothes. Older top-loading machines use 40 gallons of water to wash a full load. Today’s newer standard models use 27 gallons, and more efficient ENERGY STAR washers use 14 gallons of water per wash.
• Pick the appropriate water level setting – often small, medium, large – for the load if that’s how your washing machine works. Front loaders and most high-efficiency top loaders have auto-load sensing, and a few of the latest agitator top-loaders have it, too.
• Verify that your home is leak-free. Make sure to check and repair leaks, broken lines, watering fixtures, and irrigation systems.
• Check your toilet for leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, color will appear in the bowl within 15 minutes. (Flush as soon as the test is done, since food coloring may stain the tank.) A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day.
• Repair dripping faucets and showers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per second, you can waste over 3,000 gallons of water per year.

• Never leave a garden hose running. A running hose can use up to 600 gallons of water in just a few hours. Keep a positive shut-off nozzle on all outdoor hoses.
• Don’t use a hose to spray away debris. Clean your sidewalk or driveway with a broom instead and save up to 80 gallons of water.
• Cover your spa or pool to reduce evaporation. An average size pool left uncovered can lose as much as 1,000 gallons of water per month.
• Stop that drip. Check for leaks in outdoor faucets, pipes and hoses.
• Water your lawn and garden early in the morning or in the evening and never on a windy day. This will avoid water loss to evaporation when the sun is at its highest. Using a sprinkler that sprays large droplets rather than a fine mist will also reduce loss of water due to evaporation. Make sure to follow current drought restrictions for watering days/times.
• Water your lawn and garden, not the driveway. Adjust your sprinkler so water is aimed directly at plants rather than the house, sidewalk, driveway or street.
• Only water when your lawn is thirsty. Overwatering promotes shallow root growth making your lawn less hardy. One simple way to tell if your grass needs water is to step on it. If it springs back, there is ample moisture. If it lies flat, it needs water. Watering your lawn deeply instead of frequent, shallow watering encourages deep root formation which will help your lawn be more resistant to drought and disease.
• Mulch, mulch, mulch! This is one of the most important aspects of keeping the water you apply to your plants in the soil instead of evaporating into the air! Mulching also reduces weed growth and weeds competing with your plants for water. You can use woodchips, pine straw, shredded newspaper or many other types of materials.
• Don’t mow too close. Maintain a lawn height of three to four inches to help protect the roots from heat stress and reduce the loss of moisture to evaporation.
• Plan your landscape. Cluster plants with similar water requirements together. Designate zones for areas requiring frequent watering, occasional watering and no watering. Match plants to yard conditions such as sunny, shady, dry or damp.