City of Bend urges fall water concservation steps

The city of Bend is encouraging all citizens to reduce their landscape irrigation schedules this fall as temperatures decline.

“This is the time of year when many of us tend to over-irrigate,” said Mike Buettner, Water Conservation Program Manager for the city. “Landscape water requirements really start to drop off once nighttime temperatures get into the low 50s, so this is the perfect time to reduce programmed irrigation runtimes as we head into fall.”

The City’s WaterWise Program recommends regular irrigation schedule adjustments throughout the growing season as temperatures and landscape water requirements fluctuate.

“In general, landscapes in early spring and late fall need about half the water they require during the peak summer months of July and August,” said Buettner.

The city encourages irrigation system owners to also inspect their systems for leaks and overspray onto streets and sidewalks.

“We see a lot of landscapes that have sprinklers right up to the street curb that water the street each time the system runs,” said Buettner. “The cause can be as minor as the sprinkler leaning a few degrees one way or the other. Taking the time to straighten these benefits everyone – the customer saves water by keeping it in the landscape, water isn’t wasted, and pedestrians and bicyclists don’t have to navigate a potentially slippery situation.”

The city has a variety of educational resources to help owners create beautiful landscapes and efficient irrigation systems at www.waterwisetips.org, including three new guides. The WaterWise Landscape Guide, Irrigation Guide and Streetscape Guide can help water customers decrease the amount of water used for landscape irrigation in Bend.