Save Southlake Water
Irrigation
Also visit the Water Conservation Page for more tips.
Lawn Watering Tips:
Here are several quick and easy ideas for reducing outdoor water consumption with little negative impact to your landscaping, but a positive impact on the environment and your pocketbook:
- Water your lawn and landscaping early in the morning before 10 am, or in the early evening after 6 pm to efficiently water your lawn. Up to 30% of the water emitted from sprinklers is lost to evaporation during the hottest hours of the day.
- Regularly inspect your irrigation system, and fix or replace any broken or missing sprinkler heads.
- Do not water sidewalks, driveways or any pavement.
- Do not run sprinklers when it is windy.
- Be sure rain and freeze sensors have been installed.
- Water your lawn deeply and less often to establish deep roots. 1 inch of water every 5 to 7 days will encourage deep roots and a healthier lawn. In the winter months, water your lawn once every 15 to 20 days.
- Add a 3 to 4 inch layer of organic mulch to your landscaping beds to retain moisture and inhibit weed growth.
- Do not mow your lawn too short during very hot months. Slightly taller grass retains more moisture.
- Leave grass clippings on your lawn. These add nutrients to your lawn.
- Do not prune, fertilize, plant, or transplant during stressful weather periods.
- Know your turf!
Preventing Water Runoff by Tricking Your Lawn
Watering in shorter sequences allows the soil to absorb water even deeper, giving you a healthier lawn.
Instead of running each sprinkler zone for 15-20 minutes, adjust each zone to water so that it operates for only 5-6 minutes. This is typically when clay soil reaches its saturation point and water flows onto the street.
Program your controller to run in three to four sequences of 5-6 minutes with about one hour between each sequence's start time. This will allow the ground to soak up all the water applied.
If your current schedule looks like this:
| Day | Time | Duration |
| Wednesday | 6 AM | 30 Mins |
| Saturday | 6 AM | 30 Mins |
And you notice that your lawn typically has a lot of run-off, try this:
| Day | Time | Duration |
| Wednesday |
|
|
| Saturday |
|
|
Adjusting Your Irrigation Controller
The easiest way to manage your outdoor irrigation is to follow the City's Stage I watering schedule. This recommended schedule is easy to program into most sprinkler controllers and you only have to set it once. Check your controller today. Is it set to the correct days of the week?
To get the most efficient use of your controller, it is best to consult a licensed irrigator. For a do-it-yourself adjustment, consult the manual that came with your controller. Don't know where your manual went? Many manufacturers post the manuals online. Try these links to find your model (note: this list may not include all manufacturers).
| Acclima, Inc. | AccuRain, Inc. | AccuWater, Inc. | Aqua Conserve, Inc. |
| Aquasave Irrigation Conservation | Baseline LLC | Buckner Irrigation | Calsense |
| Champion Irrigation | Dig Corporation | ET Water | Griswold Controls |
| Gwytech PC Timer | Hit Products | Hunter Industries, Inc. | HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc. |
| Irrigation Caddy | Irrigation Direct | Irri-Gator Products | Irrisoft |
| IrriTrol | Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. | Leco Industries | L.R. Nelson Corporation |
| Maxray Irrigation | Netafim Irrigation, Inc. | Orbit Irrigation | Rain Bird International, Inc. |
| Rain Master | Superior Controls Co., Inc. | The Toro Company | Toro Ag |
| Water Conservation Systems, Inc. | Weather-Matic | WGL & Associates | WiSA Irrigation Solutions |