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•Watershed and Flood Control
•Groundwater
_____- Keys to Clean Water
•Cost-Share
•Conservation Trees
•Regulations to Protect Soil and
Water
 We
All Hold the Key To Clean Water
Lawn and Garden Best Management Practices:
Watering
Healthy lawns need sunlight, water and nourishment. Sunlight
is often beyond our control, but water and nourishment can be
effectively managed by homeowners. Here are some suggestions for
watering lawns to protect water quality:
Water only when it’s needed. Frequent watering encourages
shallow root growth, leaving the lawn vulnerable to hot, dry periods.
A lawn needs watering if you leave a trail of footprints when
you walk on it. If not, wait a day.
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Let grass grow longer. Longer grass requires less water. Allowing
turf to grow to a height of 21/2 to 3 inches shields grass roots
from the heat of the midday sun and prevents evaporation.
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Water before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. When a lawn is watered under
the hot midday sun, up to 30 percent of the water is lost to evaporation.
Watering in the early morning allows leaves to dry and prevents
fungus growth. Avoid watering on windy days, too.
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Lawns need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water each week, from either
the sprinkler or rainfall. The typical lawn can handle only 1/3
to ½ of an inch per hour before becoming saturated. Whether
using an automatic or manual sprinkler system, be sure that water
is applied uniformly. To find out how long it takes your system
to deposit an inch of water, and see if it is uniform, place a
rain gauge, jar or pan near the middle of the sprinkling area.
More details:
Contact the Cooperative Extension or local lawn and garden center.
More information on-line:
[ Evaluating
Your Landscape Irrigation System ] (Extension NebGuide)
[ Conserving
Water in the Landscape ](Extension NebGuide)
[ Kentucky
Bluegrass Lawn Calendar ](Extension NebGuide)
[ University
of Nebraska IANR Extension Publications on Horticulture ]
Other Lawn and Garden Best Management Practices:
[ Fertilizing ]
[ Using Pesticides ]
Developed for the Dutch Flats Groundwater Quality Project.
The project is partially funded by a Section 319 Clean Water Grant
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Nebraska
Department of Environmental Quality.
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