Did you know that the majority of total home water use occurs in the yard? While it is true that every bit of water saved when you turn off the faucet to brush your teeth or take a short shower in place of a bath is important, a recent University of Florida study found that reducing outdoor water use can make a big difference in the efforts of water conservation.
This study looked at over a million homes in nine Florida counties. What they found is that the average Florida home with an irrigation system uses at least 991 gallons of water each time they water the lawn. This is equivalent to taking an eight-hour long shower, doing 37 loads of laundry, or running the dishwasher 50 times. Furthermore, most people are actually overwatering their lawns! Not only is overwatering wasteful it can also cause root rot and fungal growth.
Another study, by Toho Water Authority (Toho), looked at home water use specifically in Osceola County and found that 54% of water use was occurring outdoors. The other highest water users, toilets and clothes washers, come nowhere near in usage – only 12% and 11% respectively. Over half of our community’s water use is outdoors, so being mindful of how we water our yards will really help us push the needle and make great strides in water conservation.
Toho strongly encourages water conservation and making wise decisions about usage.
Tips to reduce outdoor water use
- Follow your appointed watering schedule for a healthy lawn. Watering days and times can be found on tohowater.com.
- Check your irrigation system at least once a month for leaks. Toho offers free irrigation system audits and will make sure your systems are running as they should.
- Make sure you have a working rain sensor device – it’s the law! Rain sensors automatically shut off irrigation systems so your lawn doesn’t get watered unnecessarily.
- Reduce your landscape’s irrigation needs by planting Florida native plants. Plants that are native to Florida and built to withstand the environment need less maintenance and watering than non-natives. Visit qrco.de/flfplants or scan the QR code for the University of Florida Extension Center’s Florida-friendly plant guide.
- In the winter months, your grass goes dormant and stops growing. During this period, you can skip a week of watering.
Conservation as a strategy
Central Florida is constantly welcoming new residents. With this consistent increase in population, our current water source, The Floridan Aquifer, is not a sustainable resource for the projected growth that is expected in the future. By reducing the demand for water, we will defer alternative water source projects. Additionally, being conscious of our water use is the right thing to do — our actions today affect the needs and/or shortfalls in the future.
More information or a free irrigation timer set, contact Toho's Water Conservation team to set up an appointment or for more information, please email us at waterconservation@tohowater.com or call us at 407-944-5124.
