Water Wise

Water Wise

Water is a very precious resource we have and in Nebraska I think we sometimes take it for granted. Here are a few interesting water facts from MUD's website: 1. Only 1 percent of the earth's water is available for drinking. 2. Typical households consume 50 percent of their water on the lawn. 3. You can survive about a month without food, but only 5-7 days without water. 4. A person should consume 2 quarts of water per day to maintain health. 5. A small drip from a leaky faucet can waste about 3,000 gallons of water per year. A leaky toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water per day. 6. On average about 70 percent of water use is for landscaping. I live in a forested neighborhood with lots of shade and am protected by the wind as well, so when I built my house 8 years ago I decided not to install a sprinkler system. This year I am proud to say I never had to water my fescue lawn. The lawn looks great and is thriving. We did have an unsually cool summer with timely rains so everything worked out perfect. Normally I will water 6-10 times per year starting in July and ending in early September. My landscape takes very little water as well. The native grasses, shrubs and trees are very drought resistent and easy to maintain. As we consider some of these water facts I hope we all take the time to value our very precious resource. Please contact us if you would like to have Greenlife Gardens help you conserve water in your lawn or landscape. Cory Wehrbein