With the drought and severe warm weather, should residents be using caution when watering their lawns?
Lawns are hearty and only require approximately an inch of water once a week. In cases of severe drought, such as we are experiencing at this time, not watering the lawn will do no harm. Lawns will turn brown, as most lawns are now, but they will bounce back when the drought is over. Watering a lawn for 3 to 4 hours a day is a waste of water. Watering a lawn for this amount of time with a garden hose wastes about 1350 to 1800 gallons of water which is equivalent to the daily water consumption of about 10 to 15 people.
The Northwest Water Planning Alliance is currently working on a proposal for uniform watering regulations for the communities in northeastern Illinois. A number of communities have some sort of regulations in place and most are similar in that they suggest that under normal conditions lawns be watered in the early morning and in the evening. During dry periods an odd/even watering program might go into effect and during severe drought conditions no lawn watering or car washing activities are allowed.
Please see the BACOG article, “Drought, Water Levels and Recommendations for Community Action” for additional information. -Dr. Thomsen