City of Bend encourages fall water conservation
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,” says Mike Buettner, Water Conservation Program Manager for the City of Bend. “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 one-half the water they require during the peak summer months of July and August,” says 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 result in water on the street each time the system runs. 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,” Buettner added.
The City has a variety of educational resources to help owners create beautiful landscapes and efficient irrigation systems at waterwisetips.org, including three new guides. The WaterWise Landscape Guide, Irrigation Guide and Streetscape Guide are all geared toward decreasing the amount of water used for landscape irrigation in Bend.
