About a third of all residential water use in the nation - about 7.8 billion gallons of water annually - goes to outdoor landscaping, according to the U.S. Geological 
Survey, much of it to keep lawns green. In desert-like parts of the country that's crazy and unsustainable in the extreme. Even in wetter regions, longer droughts brought by climate change mean water restrictions where they've never been needed before. Something's gotta change.
Visit our Arid Climate page for lots more about gardening with limited water.
Thomas Christopher's book Water-Wise Gardening: America's Backyard Revolution presents case studies of how different gardeners across the country are landscaping with less water.
Drought-Tolerant Doesn't Have to Mean Dull in the Los Angeles Times.
"When the well runs dry" by Billy Goodnick makes the case that water conservation isn't an issue just for the West anymore.
Emily Green in the LA Times says "When it comes to lawn, brown is golden." And don't miss her blog Chance of Rain.
Strategies for reducing water use for lawns include:
- Planting climate-appropriate grasses and grasslike species.
- Reducing the size of the lawn.
- Shading lawn from hot midsummer sun.
- Using redirected drainspouts and/or bermed plantings to direct runoff to the lawn area.
- Watering deeply and less frequently.
- Mowing to the best height for your lawn type, but to at least 3 inches.
- Adding organic matter like grass clippings and chopped leaves to lawn and aerating compacted soil so it can absorb more moisture, which makes the lawn more drought-tolerant
- Invest in an Evapotranspiration Controller (ET or Smart Controller), a self adjusting controller that automatically adjusts irrigation schedules based on your specific landscape needs and local weather conditions.Learn more here and here.
- Water more deeply and less frequently. For heavier clay soils which absorb water slowly, consider matched precipitation sprinklers with lower infiltration rates, such as MP Rotators.
- Adjust your irrigation schedule as the length of days and temperature change.
- Take advantage of rebates and irrigation tips offered in your area. Hydropoint data systems provides links to water conservation rebates in the west.
