As published in Lakeway Voice, August 2018.
Lakeway MUD Irrigation Reminder
We don’t need to remind anyone that it is summer in Lakeway; all you have to do is walk outside to get a quick reminder of our 100 degree (Plus or Minus a degree or two) weather. As of this writing, the 7 day forecast shows no rain in sight.
We are in Stage Two restrictions for irrigation between May 1 and September 30. This means that irrigation is allowed two days per week depending on the last digit of your address. Odd number addresses may irrigate on Wednesday and Saturday, and Even number addresses may irrigate on Thursday and Sunday. Commercial irrigation is allowed on Tuesday and Friday. These restrictions apply to both underground sprinkler systems and sprinklers on the end of a hose.
It is very important to remember that NO IRRIGATION IS ALLOWED BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 10AM AND 7pm. During those hours, the heat causes so much evaporation that irrigation is very ineffective.
If you are putting in new sod and/or landscaping, you may apply for a variance for a short period of time while your new vegetation takes root.
Many people don’t know how much water they put on their lawn through the irrigation system. Here is an example that may help you understand your irrigation system a little better and perhaps keep from using too much water. A sample irrigation system has 10 zones. Each zone has 10 sprinkler heads that put out 1 gallon a minute. Each zone is set to irrigate for 20 minutes so that’s a total of 200 minutes. Each zone will put out 200 gallons of water in 20 minutes. The total amount of water for one night would be 2000 gallons. If you are an odd number address you can irrigate on Wednesday and Saturday, so you set the controller to do the same on Wednesday and Saturday, so now you have used 4,000 gallons on your lawn in one week. There are 8 weeks to our billing cycle, so 8 times 4,000 is 32,000 gallons of water used on your yard, a lot more than you probably thought you were using. Our advice is be careful when setting your controller and time on zones. “Homeowners with automatic sprinkler systems could use up to 30 to 40 percent more water than is necessary for a healthy landscaper” per an LCRA article on “Why efficient irrigation can save you money”. The rule of thumb is each zone should put out a total of 1-inch per week.
We hope this information will motivate some to check their sprinkler systems schedule and adjust as needed to conserve wherever possible. By the time this goes to press, we will be in August. Let’s all hope we have had some rain by this time, and we hope all of you have or have had a pleasant and enjoyable vacation break.
Please feel free to call us with any questions at 512/261-6222, email us at [email protected]. You can also visit our website at www.LakewayMUD.org for further information.
