Through High Temps and No Rain, North Texas Tries to Stretch its Limited Water Resources through September and Beyond
It might seem routine by now — watering onlybron this day, but not that one, and only during these hours. Stage one waterbrrestrictions went into effect in Southlake and other area cities early thisbryear, and although they'll probably be lifted sometime in the fall, waterbrrestrictions will probably become a large part of Southlake life.
“Our population is exploding, and our waterbrinfrastructure and system of reservoirs is so far behind the curve,” says IanbrMacClean, licensed irrigator and owner of Highland Landscaping Services. “Overbrthe next 20 years, this problem is going to get more intense, and thebrmagnifying glass is going to be on irrigation more and more.”
Southlake andbrits neighboring cities purchase water from the Tarrant Regional Water Districtbr(TRWD), which puts the restrictions in place. The water is sourced from severalbrlakes in the area — lakes that are, as of this writing, at 72 percent of theirbrnormal levels. The lake levels drop because of heavy usage, heat andbrevaporation. And unless North Texas lucks out with an anomalous wet summer likebrthe one experienced in 2010, those levels will continue to get lower and lower.br
Although thebrcity did complete a new pipeline earlier this year, enabling it to better meetbrthe water demands of Southlake residents — demands that are only going to growbras Southlake grows — it doesn't change the amount of water available.
“WhenbrSouthlake residents, along with other local communities like Colleyville,brGrapevine, Keller, North Richland Hills and Trophy Club all use water, then webrare going to use water out of those lakes,” says Bob Price, Southlake directorbrof public works. “When those lakes reach the next threshold, then TRWD willbrrequire us to go to stage two.” If the lake levels drop to 60 percent, stagebrtwo water restrictions will go into effect, restricting lawn watering to onebrday a week.
The city'sbreffort to reduce water usage mainly focuses on outdoor activities as irrigationbraccounts for approximately 60 percent of water demand, according to Price.brWhile residents should always ensure efficient indoor water use — i.e.brchecking for leaks in fixtures and by monitoring the meter — the relative youthbrof many of the buildings in Southlake means that most already employbrwater-efficient fixtures such as showerheads and toilets.
So thebrsolution lies in ensuring efficient water usage outdoors. According to Price,brwater restrictions aren't meant to prevent residents from keeping their yardsbrgreen; they're put in place to discourage waste. “We're not trying to say thatbrpeople can't water their lawns — they invest a great deal of money into theirbrlawns, we understand that — we just don't want watering more than necessary tobrthe point that it's running down the gutters or off the lots,” he says, notingbrthat water run-off poses a major health hazard. “A connection has been madebrbetween a heavy amount of irrigation run-off and West Nile virus. That waterbrgets into the drainage system and just sits in places and becomes a breedingbrground.”
While waterbrrestrictions might require adjustments to how Southlake residents plan and maintainbrtheir beautiful yards, it's all part of a larger responsibility to use ourbrlimited resources efficiently.
“We continuebrto try to get the word out to everybody and try to be good stewards and goodbrneighbors in the region,” Price adds. “We have to do our part to try tobrconserve water for the days when it's not so available.”
Soluble Solutions
Abiding by the water restrictions in placebrwill cut water consumption by 10 percent, Price says. But taking further actionbrwith large and small measures could make a huge difference as North Texas facesbryet another dry summer.
MacCleanbrnotes the biggest issue he sees as a landscaper is the planting of vegetationbrthat isn't appropriate to the North Texas climate, something he hopes allbrSouthlake residents will take into consideration as we enter the fall plantingbrseason.
“Choosebrplants that are good for the area, and avoid plants that are not acclimated tobrour heat,” he says. MacClean notes that the most common plants he seesbrrequested that aren't suited to a Texas summer are azaleas, hydrangeas andbrgardenias. “They certainly don't like our droughts, and they certainly don'tbrlike our heat,” he says.
A wholesale replanting of the flowerbedsbrisn't practical for most in the middle of the summer, however, but MacClean suggestsbra few immediate steps owners can take to reduce water usage.
At leastbrtwice a year — and definitely this summer — have a professional licensedbrirrigator check your sprinkler system, and don't wait to get problems fixed.
“One thingbrthat we encounter most commonly is customers who leave their sprinkler systembrin disrepair, either knowingly or unknowingly, and we finally get a call whenbrthere are large areas of grass or plants that are dead. For heaven's sake,brdon't defer repairs,” he says, noting that there are more benefits than justbrsaving those shrubs you've invested so much time and money in. “It's going tobrkeep you on the cutting edge of technology as far as having the most efficientbrwater usage products available and identifying coverage problems.”
MacClean isbrquick to note another immediate improvement residents can make to theirbrirrigation systems mid-summer to ease water usage. He recommends using a dripbrsystem to water your plants, a tip seconded by TRWD.
“With drip,bryou use less water because you're delivering right to the root system — abrtremendous amount of water is wasted due to misting and evaporation withbrtraditional above-ground sprinklers,” he says, adding that homeowners shouldbrconsult a professional to install these systems. Alternatively,brdo-it-yourselfers could consider using soaker hoses in flowerbeds and pots tobrwater directly to the root. Soaker hoses are not as precise as drip systemsbrwhen it comes to water delivery but they are much more efficient thanbrabove-ground sprinklers.
As far asbrTexas' ongoing water problem, MacClean says more reservoirs are being plannedbrand built to aid with water supply, but that process takes years. “It takes 20 yearsbrto complete a reservoir; that glimmer of hope is so far off the horizon,” hebrsays.
Given howbrlong it will be before any kind of solution comes to fruition, TRWD has begunbrto consider instituting year-round water restrictions. While that drastic of abrmeasure might be a while off, every resident can help by reducing water usagebroutdoors. Says MacClean, “We really are going to have to be closely watchingbrour irrigation systems since the problem won't go away.”
Save Tarrant Water Tips
The importance of water conservation throughoutbrthe summer is going to grow every year. Southlake's water supplier, TarrantbrRegional Water District, has a few recommendations to curb water usage. Getbrinto the habit and learn more at Save Tarrant Water.
Give the sprinkler a rest sometimes. In Texas, we tend to water our lawns much too often for much toobrlong. Leave your lawn alone once in a while, and it will do fine —maybe evenbrbetter.
Don't water between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Up to 30 percent of the water sprayed on lawns during the heat ofbrthe day can be lost to evaporation. So it’s much cooler to water when it’sbrcooler.
Inch toward conservation. Applybrjust an inch of water to your lawn once a week during the summer. That willbrencourage deeper root systems and make for healthier grass.
Add some mulch to the mix. Abrthree- or four-inch layer of mulch, like bark or wood chips, in flower beds orbraround trees and shrubs will help retain moisture and limit weed growth.
Break out the broom. Hosingbrdown your driveway and sidewalk uses about five gallons of water a minute.brSweeping is much less wasteful, and who can’t use the exercise?
Use your water meter to check for leaks. Turn off all fixtures, and note the meter reading. Keep the waterbroff for a couple of hours, then check to see if the meter reading has changed.brIf it has, you have a leak. Common sources of leaks are toilets, drippingbrfaucets and sprinkler systems.
Go Native
Save on water with these tried-and-true LonebrStar natives. Ian Maclean, owner of Highland Landscaping, takes you on a tourbrof his Texas vegetation of choice. Incorporate one or all of these numbers intobryour yard, and save on water all year round. Find out more from MacClean andbrhis team at Highland Landscaping.
Trees
Red Cedar This evergreen, fast-growingbrnative is tolerant of heat, cold and drought.
Cherry Laurel A heat- andbrdrought-tolerant evergreen, it blooms fragrant flowers in the spring and isbravailable in standard and compact varieties.
Vitex, a.k.a. Texas Lilac Heat- andbrdrought-tolerant, this tree offers beautiful lavender blooms throughout thebrheat of the summer.
Plants
Color Guard Yucca Thisbrcolorful yellow-with-pink yucca plant stays compact and is evergreen-, heat-brand drought-tolerant.
Pride of Barbados This plantbrshows off with magnificent, ornate blooms and unique leaf and branchbrstructures, and it loves heat and drought.
Moon Flower Just after sunset, this heat-brand drought-tolerant native opens giant fragrant blooms.
Color
Purslane and Moss Rose These heat-brand drought-tolerant bedding plants have vibrant colors and are great for pots,brtoo.
Mandevilla This stunner blooms all seasonbrlong and doesn’t mind heat and a little neglect, making it perfect forbrcenterpieces in pots.
Mexican Bush Sage and Texas Fire Bush These plants provide exciting, vibrant colors for any Texasbrlandscape.