With summer heat making even your thermometer break a sweat, many homeowners are taking to watering their lawns more frequently.

The trouble is, that’s not always the best thing for it.

For starters, frequent watering encourages grass to develop shallow roots – not the deep-reaching roots that help to create a healthy lawn capable of surviving drought, high heat and lots of activity. Another problem is that too much water will keep the roots wet, making your lawn more susceptible to disease and insect damage. And overwatering also leads to increased runoff, which can carry away soil, fertilizer, chemicals and pet waste, polluting the water supply.

So what’s a grass-lover to do?

A brown lawn doesn't mean it's dead, just dormant.

In most cases, you can simply let your lawn go dormant.  It will turn brown, but that doesn’t mean it’s given up the ghost. It just means the grass is preserving itself by storing its energy in its roots and temporarily giving up on the blades — a perfect tactic during hot, dry weather. An established lawn will be just fine if it doesn’t get water for several weeks (although newly seeded areas have very different needs). When cooler weather rolls around, new blades will shoot up.

It’s important to remember that, with the exception of rain, you shouldn’t water during this dormant period, as that will stress the lawn by encouraging it to ‘wake up’ too soon – sort of like having your alarm clock go off several hours early.

If dormancy isn’t an option, there are a few ways to ensure a lawn isn’t being overwatered. The rule of thumb for a healthy, established lawn is to provide about 1 inch of water each week, applied in one session. That number varies based on the weather and the type of soil — heavy, packed soils require less water; sandy, arid soils need more.

Quick tip: Place an empty 12 oz tuna or cat food can under a sprinkler.  When it fills up, that’s about an inch, and the lawn’s had enough.

Common sense is key: If rain’s in the forecast, hold off on watering until you see if the weather report holds true, and then use a rain gauge to figure out how much has fallen. If it’s under an inch, do the math to figure out how much more is needed. And always water in the morning to reduce evaporation and give the lawn a helping hand through the heat of the day.  Watering in the afternoon wastes much of the H2O through evaporation, and watering at night encourages disease.

Finally, give the lawn – and your mower – a break. Cut the grass no lower than 2”, and avoid frequent mowings.  You’ll save energy, reduce wear and tear on the machine, and help the lawn to conserve its water supply.

Looking for more information on keeping your lawn healthy? Take a look at a few tips from the USDA, and be sure to read our earlier blog on water conservation.

On Thursday, June 23, Lehigh County Authority and the City of Allentown hosted a joint presentation to explain our respective
plans to protect our drinking water supplies from contamination. The presentation summed up an exhaustive study of where our water comes from and how it can be affected by any number of factors, including runoff from development and residential areas; industrial and agricultural byproducts such as chemicals or fertilizers; and runoff from roads.

The study area included the City of Allentown, the townships of Weisenberg, Lowhill, Upper Macungie, Lower Macungie, Salisbury, and South Whitehall, and the boroughs of Alburtis and Macungie in Lehigh County, and Longswamp Township in Berks County.

Utilizing results from the study, LCA and the City of Allentown are developing a plan to protect our sources of drinking water. This has numerous benefits, not the least of which are the protection of public health, promotion of sound land-use planning, and preservation of the environment. Some of the benefits are also financial – for example, the reduced cost of water treatment. A recent EPA study estimates that, on average, every $1 spent on source protection saves $27 on water treatment.

The plan calls for dividing the area into three zones. The most protective zone, Zone I, is a circle around each well with a radius ranging from 100 to 400 feet (DEP, 2005). The second most protective zone, Zone II, represents the 10-year time of travel – the area from which groundwater has a high probability of reaching the well in fewer than ten years. The Zone III protection area is much more extensive, as it encompasses nearly 50,000 acres and includes multiple municipalities in Lehigh and Berks counties.

Some of the steps Allentown has taken as part of the plan’s implementation include:

• A street sweeping and litter pick-up campaign.
• The removal of more than 9,000 tons of debris and leaves from city streets.
• The removal of more than 3,000 cubic feet of debris from storm water inlets and 174 cubic yards of debris and sediment from safety grates and surrounding areas.
• Implementation of S.W.E.E.P. (Solid Waste Education and Enforcement Program). So far, more than 7,000 violation tickets have been issued to enforce the city’s litter and trash ordinances.
• The completion of a buffer zone project near Cedar Beach Park.

Here at LCA, we’ve been busy, too. Here are just a few of our related projects:

• An ongoing leadership role in coordinating HydroMania events for the Lehigh Valley.
• Participating in Emmaus Watershed Day.
• Coordinating and sponsoring a household hazardous waste drop-off program.
• Initiating a rain barrel program.
• Offering “green ideas” on this blog and our Facebook page.
• Educating homeowners and businesses about their important role in source water protection.

It’s important that all of us understand the impact we have on the water we drink. Please take some time to learn more about our work to keep our water supplies clean, and what you can do to help:

View the June 23 presentation

Review the detailed report summary and introduction

Contact Us for more info or to request an appointment to review the full report (too large to post online!)

Leave a comment below with your questions, comments or discussio-starters!

Wasting water is like flushing money down the drain. So if you’re looking for ways to save some cash, one of the simplest solutions is to save some water.

Don't let a leaky faucet drain your bank account.

Start by checking faucets and toilets for leaks. Those little drips coming from your tap can, according to Earth Easy, waste 20 gallons of water daily – that’s 140 gallons of water a week. And the Environmental Protection Agency says a leaking toilet is even worse, wasting up to 200 gallons in a single day!

While you’re checking for leaks, consider replacing older faucets, showerheads and toilets with a WaterSense model. According to the EPA, the switch could save a family of four more than 16,000 gallons per year.

Trimming just a few minutes from your shower can also be a big help, and turning off the tap during the time it takes to brush your teeth, lather up your hands, shave, or wash your hair will save many gallons in the long run.

Now take a look at your washing machine and dishwasher. You should run your dishwasher only if it’s full, and you should use the shortest cycle that’s feasible. Doing a partial load wastes water and electricity, as does using a heavier wash setting than is necessary.

The same rules apply for the washing machine. Make sure to use a setting that’s appropriate for the load of laundry at hand, and try to run the machine only when you have a full load.

If you have older models, consider upgrading to newer, more efficient machines. A high-efficiency, front-loading washing machine alone can use up to 50 percent less water and energy versus a top-loading model.

If you’re washing dishes by hand, use two wash buckets: one to wash, and one to rinse. This uses much less water than running the tap for each dish, and you can use the leftover water to give your outdoor plants a drink.

Each year, poorly adjusted sprinkler systems waste billions of gallons of water nationwide.

Speaking of the outdoors, let’s talk about sprinklers. Many farmers, businesses and individuals employ sprinkler systems to irrigate crops, gardens and lawns, but improper use wastes billions of gallons of water each year nationwide (this goes for other irrigation methods as well). Turning them on during the afternoon squanders a lot of H2O through evaporation. Using them at night or early in the morning makes more sense, but even then, a great deal of water is lost as runoff. It’s also often pointless to use them every day, as there may be sufficient water for the plants just below the surface. (A good rule of thumb for watering plants is to check the soil 2 inches down. If it feels moist, the roots have access to all the liquid they need.)

There are ways to tame your sprinklers, of course. Sprinkler heads should be aimed for maximum effect — spraying sidewalks, macadam or the side of your house isn’t going to help your plants. Timers can be programmed for more infrequent use, to run the sprinklers for shorter intervals, and to run them only at night or early in the morning. Rain sensors, which will keep the sprinklers off when they’re not needed, can be installed. Another nifty option, detailed in a recent Scientific American article, is a “smart” irrigation system that controls watering cycles based on satellite data and weather forecasts. According to the piece, a school district that used the system managed to slash its water consumption by a whopping 39% and its utility bills by $108,000.

Replacing turf with shrubs or groundcovers that have deeper roots than water-needy grass is also helpful. Make sure to use mulch around your plants; this will help retain moisture and eliminate the need for frequent watering. And consider installing rain barrels to catch runoff from your roof that can be used later on when your plants need a drink.

Finally, don’t forget to check your outdoor spigots, irrigation systems, pools and hot tubs for costly leaks. Install covers on hot tubs and, when feasible, pools, to reduce water loss via evaporation. And keep an eye on your water meter, because spikes in usage can signal an unseen leak.

Do you have tips for water conservation? We’d love to hear them. Post them in our comments section, and we’ll share them with our readers.