Spring has sprung, or at least it’s it’s in the process of springing around us! As the flowers and cherry trees start to blooms many of us start to daydream of warm, sunny days. Pretty soon it’ll be time to get the yard in check! For some of us this includes getting ready to bring our irrigation systems out of hibernation.

Did you know that residential outdoor water use in the United States accounts for more than 9 billion gallons of water each day? Most of that is for  for landscape irrigation. Keeping those summer roses looking perky takes a lot of water, but experts estimate that as much as 50% of this water is wasted due to overwatering caused by inefficiencies in irrigation methods and systems. Are you wasting water? If you don’t know than the answer is probably yes!

Water Smart

Water smart. If you have an irrigation system consider looking into WaterSense or SWAT labeled irrigation controllers. These irrigation controllers act like a thermostat for your sprinkler system. They’re super “smart” and are able to tell your sprinkler system when to turn on and off, and they use local weather and landscape conditions to tailor watering schedules to actual conditions at your home. Instead of irrigating using a controller with a clock and a preset schedule, WaterSense and SWAT labeled controllers allow watering schedules to better match plants’ water needs.

Conserving Water and Saving You Money

By replacing your old standard clock timer with a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller you could save a lot of water. In fact, an average home saves nearly 8,800 gallons of water annually by making the switch. If every home in the United States with an automatic sprinkler system installed and properly operated a WaterSense or SWAT labeled controller, we could save 120 billion gallons of water across the country just by simply not overwatering lawns and landscapes. In our region, that equals more water in there river to aquatic habit while you’re lawn (and your bank account) looks pretty darn good.

We’ll even help you save? Did you know that CRW offers a pretty great rebate for irrigation controllers? CRW customers can get a $100 rebate for purchasing and installing a new irrigation controller. Check out WaterSense labeled controllers and SWAT labeled controllers. You can find more information about CRW’s rebate programs at www.crwater.com/conservation/rebates.