Water Conservation

Water Conservation Program

When necessary to ensure safe reservoir levels, the City will call for residents to follow a water Conservation Program Schedule during the peak irrigation season.  This will apply to all water system customers, including residential and commercial lawns or green spaces.  

The Conservation Program Schedule is as follows:

  • Mandatory Odd/Even Watering Schedule:  Addresses ending in an odd number may water on odd calendar dates, and addresses ending in an even number may water on even calendar dates.  If your automatic sprinkler timer does not have an odd/even program, then please schedule your usage to 3-4 days per week.  This includes all residential, commercial, and apartment properties.
  • Lawn Watering Times:  Watering times will be from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. (or from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. if you don’t have an automatic timer).
  • Amount of Water:  Restrict the amount of time you run your lawn sprinklers, which will conserve water and help to maintain our reservoir levels.
  • Gardens and Flowers:  Watering of gardens and flowers is approved between the hours of 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.  Use a soaker hose, drip system, or water by hand.  Apply mulch to retain moisture.

General Irrigation Tips

  • Avoid watering in the middle of the day when the hot sun will evaporate much of the water before it can get to thirsty plants.
  • A rule of thumb is that lawns only need up to one inch of water a week, including rainfall.  Shrubs, trees, and other perennials generally will need even less because of their deeper root structure.
  • Give this a try:  Place a few empty tuna cans around your lawn while you're watering and measure how long it takes your sprinkler to fill them with a half inch of water.  Then, try watering that amount of time twice a week.  Gauge how your landscape responds, and adjust based on weather conditions.
  • If water begins to pool, turn off your sprinkler to prevent overwatering and runoff.  Watering plants or grass too frequently can drown plants or result in shallow roots.  Overwatering can lead to a host of other problems including weed growth, disease, fungus, and stormwater runoff that pollutes local waterways with fertilizers and pesticides.