St. Johns Riverkeeper

Water Efficiently

Water only when needed.
Water no more than 2 times a week and only when necessary. Often, rainfall may provide adequate irrigation for your lawn and plants. Irrigate only when your lawn shows signs of stress from lack of water. When the leaf blades begin to fold in half, the lawn turns a bluish-gray color, or footprints linger, it may be time to water.

Overwatering can result in a shallow root system, making your lawn less drought-tolerant and more susceptible to weed growth, disease, fungus and insects. Consider installing a soil moisture sensor that will either turn on your automatic system when water is needed or turn it off when the lawn has received enough water.

Water early in the morning.
Temperature and wind speed are at their lowest rates, so there is much less evaporation. The St. Johns River Water Management District only allows watering before 10am or after 4pm.

Avoid over-watering.
Apply between 1/2'” and ¾” at each watering. You can measure the amount by placing 5 to 7 wide-mouthed cans (the size of a tuna can) throughout the lawn. Use a ruler to measure the depth of water in each can. When the average measurement in each can is ½” to ¾”, you can determine the amount of time it takes to apply the appropriate amount of water.

Adjust your sprinklers to only water your grass and plants, not your street, sidewalk, or driveway.
Position your sprinkler so that the water does not land on paved areas.

Set it; don’t forget it.
If you have an automatic sprinkler system, turn it off during periods of rainy weather and make sure your system has a rain shutoff device. Florida law requires that all automatic sprinkler systems installed since 1991 have rain shutoff devices.

Water Efficiently