Water and its conservation is becoming a really hot topic in Texas and around the nation over the last few years. We fill up our ponds with rain water as much as we can but still have to supplement with water wells. The wells are monitored by the Harris Galveston Subsidence District so they know how much water we pump and that we don’t pump more than we’re permitted to take. There is some good info on their website about water conservation as well as links to get a permit to drill a water well and other permits related to water use.
Texas A&M has a some really good information about water conservation on their website as well. There’s a section for Homeowners, Agriculture, Wildlife & Fisheries, and a couple of others. Under the Homeowners section they talk about Saving Water, Sprinklers & Irrigation, Landscaping, Plants & Trees, and a few other topics as well.
They have a good section about how much water your yard (an established yard, not a new installation) should need as well as a link to a site that will tell you exactly how long to turn on your sprinklers. That site is WaterMyYard.org but it does require some information about your sprinkler system or how you irrigate your yard to give you the best results. It won’t work for everyone because their information is based on rainfall, temperature, humidity and other factors that they track from their weather stations so it will only really work if they have a weather station near you. But it’s worth checking out and seeing if they do have a weather station near where you live and for help understanding how to measure your sprinklers and what evapotranspiration means. Everyone wants to know that right!?
So here’s the link to the Texas A&M AgriLife Water Education Network if you want to check it out!