When the sun’s out, water use goes up, up, up. But it doesn’t have to. If you’re tired of maintaining water-hungry lawns, this is the summer to let your lawn go, go, go. Now’s the time to pull back on watering to prepare for a drought-friendly garden this fall.
EBMUD’s landscape rebates, available at ebmud.com/Rebates, can help you achieve a colorful water-efficient garden that will beckon bursts of poppies, bees and butterflies in the spring.
Take pics to capture your landscape transformation and post your progress by tagging @ebmud on social media with the hashtag #Iheartmygarden.
Irrigation Basics
To do now:
- Look for irrigation leaks, which are often to blame for high bills. Check your irrigation periodically by turning on each station and evaluating.
- Water in the early morning; the mid-day sun causes water to evaporate before it reaches roots. Place mulch over exposed soil to reduce evaporation, suppress weeds and improve the soil.
- Water slowly to the roots and let the soil dry before re-watering. Rule of thumb: water your established trees deeply once a month in the summer.
To do later:
- Switch to a WaterSense controller that uses local weather data to adjust irrigation.
- Apply for a flow meter rebate to get notified within minutes of a leak.
- Hydrozone your yard by grouping plants with similar watering needs. Bonus points for selecting native plants that need little irrigation.
New rates in effect
To continue funding vital water and wastewater operations and infrastructure improvements, EBMUD adopted rate increases of 4% for water service and 4% for wastewater service starting July 1, 2021, and an additional 4% for each service next year. Read our budget-in-brief at ebmud.com/Rates.
During dry weather, we’re in this together!
Visit ebmud.com/WaterSmart for rebate information, resources and workshops.