published: Tuesday, January 08, 2013

District asks homeowners to 'Skip a Week' of irrigation

Special to the News-Sun

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is reminding residents who irrigate their lawns to "Skip a Week" or more of watering during the cooler months of January and February.

According to research by the University of Florida, grass doesn't need to be watered as often during the cooler months. One-half to three-quarters of an inch of water every 10-14 days is sufficient. In fact, if your lawn has received any significant rainfall, then you can turn off your irrigation system and operate it manually as needed.

"Overwatering can encourage pests and disease in your lawn," said Robin Grantham, Florida-Friendly Landscaping project manager. "Too much irrigation can also make lawns less able to survive droughts." Skipping a week of watering is as easy as "off" for residents with irrigation timers. "Turn the timer to 'off' for the week that you want to skip, and 'on' for the week that you want to water," Grantham said.

You can determine when your grass needs water when:

- Grass blades are folded in half lengthwise on at least one-third of your yard.

- Grass blades appear blue-gray.

- Grass blades do not spring back, leaving footprints on the lawn for several minutes after walking on it.

Watering only every other week at most during the winter will help conserve drinking water supplies that the public needs for critical uses during the dry season. In fact, if everyone skipped one week of irrigation this season, it could save an estimated 1.9 billion gallons of water.

For additional information about water restrictions and water conservation, contact your local utility or visit the district's website at WaterMatters
.org/SkipAWeek/.