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Water -Saving Strategies for Home Lawns <br />By Sam Bauer, University of MN Extension Turfgrass Educator sibauernumn.edu <br />Water use in the home landscape is a hot topic- even in Minnesota. In the Twin Cities, on <br />average three times more water is used during the summer than in the winter and much of this <br />water is used outdoors. As urbanization increases and we continue to experience more <br />extreme heat and drought, greater pressure is placed on our water resources. If you own an <br />irrigation system or water your lawn with portable sprinklers, reduce your overall water use by <br />implementing the following water -saving tips. <br />WATER -SAVING TIPS <br />1. Pay attention to the weather: During a Minnesota summer, we may see heavy <br />periods of rainfall followed by extended drought. Homeowners with lawns should <br />adjust irrigation practices accordingly. This means no longer relying on the "set it <br />and forget it" irrigation schedule that is often programmed into automatic systems. <br />Operating irrigation controllers in manual mode is one way to solve this issue: turn <br />the controller on only when your lawn shows <br />signs of drought. imermtimoio. <br />2. Select lawn grasses that use less water and <br />can tolerate drought: Whether you are <br />establishing a new lawn or renovating an <br />existing lawn, choice of grass species will <br />impact irrigation requirements. Traditional <br />grass species for Minnesota include Kentucky <br />bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue, and <br />tall fescue. Fescue species offer the best <br />drought tolerance. Fine fescues simply use <br />less water, and tall fescue has a deep root <br />system able to access more moisture. <br />3. Adjust irrigation programs to conserve <br />water: To encourage rooting and drought <br />tolerance, lawns should be irrigated <br />infrequently (one time or less per week) with a <br />sufficient volume of water to wet soils to a depth of six inches, assuming no rainfall <br />has occurred. Depending on your soil type, your lawn may only need as little as a <br />half -inch of water. Set irrigation programs to water during the morning hours. <br />Watering during the heat of the day reduces the amount of water absorbed by the <br />soil and made available to plants. <br />4. Audit your irrigation system: Auditing your irrigation system is a good step toward <br />water conservation. Irrigation contractors will perform this service for you if you <br />contract with them. There are three basic steps: 1) check system components <br />including sprinklers, valves and controllers; 2) conduct a performance test, and 3) <br />AIM <br />RESEARCH AT THE U OF M HAS IDENTIFIED FESCUES <br />AS THE MOST DROUGHT TOLERANT FOR LAWNS <br />