Conservation
2008 Landscape Care Class Schedule
All classes (Unless otherwise noted) are taught at Tagawa Garden Center, 7711 S. Parker Rd. by Craig Miller, Water Conservation Specialist for Parker Water and Sanitation District
Class Handouts and Outlines
2008 Landscape Care Class Description
Sunday, May 18, 1 PM – Noxious Weeds for Homeowners
- What the heck are noxious weeds, and why should you care? In this class, we will define noxious weeds and discuss weed management techniques. We will also cover home lawn and garden weed problems, with an emphasis on weed identification, herbicide selection and use and cultural controls.
Sunday, June 1, 1 PM – Fall Color in the Landscape
- It’s never too early to be thinking about adding fall interest to your yard! We will go over the basics of fall color, and a variety of colorful tree and shrub selections. We will also touch on fruit, bark, perennials and ornamental grasses that provide fall and winter interest.
Sunday, June 8, 1 PM – How to Kill a Tree
- Our 5 step program for “Assisted Herb-icide” will teach you how to properly care for your trees. From poor pruning to construction damage, improper planting to over watering, we will cover the tree maintenance practices that shorten the lives of trees in our urban forest.
Sunday, June 29, 1 PM – 10 Things NOT to do in Your Landscape
- Some of the worst landscape care practices will be illustrated in this talk. This is your comprehensive guide to over watering, over planting, herbicide misapplication, tree abuse and inappropriate species selection.
Xeriscape Resources
Trees, Shrubs, Junipers, Evergreens, Perennials, Vines and Grasses
A comprehensive list of Xeric plants for water-wise gardening in Colorado
Planting a Blue Grama Lawn from Seed
101 Ways to Conserve Water
ET Based Smart Irrigation Controllers
Caring for Trees in Dry Climates
Fall-Winter Tree Watering Schedule
Guide to Home Water Management
Guide to Outdoor Watering
Spring-Summer Tree Watering Schedule
The 7 Principles of Xeriscape
How can I conserve water?
There are a variety of ways to cut down on water consumption, inside and outside.
On average, lawns account for 50 percent of home water use. By eliminating as much turf grass as possible and replacing it with low-water "Xeriscape" plants, you can significantly cut down on your water use.
Take shorter showers. About 75 percent of water used indoors is used in the bathroom (including 5-7 gallon toilet flushes). Parker Water provides free, low-flow shower heads to customers. Install one today. Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth or shave.
Store drinking water in the refrigerator to avoid running water while it cools. Water can be safely stored for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
Altering the way you wash your car, dishes, or even brush your teeth can save water, too. Take your car to a professional car wash that uses recycled water, use the energy-saving cycles on your dishwasher, don't use the toilet to dispose of small items like tissue and insects—small changes can save hundreds of gallons of water a year.
Lawn watering
Restrictions
Parker Water has not had any mandatory watering restrictions during the last 3 summers.
Tips on reducing water use on lawns
Most customers will find that they can remain in the first tier (under 20,000 gallons per month) by watering their lawns no more than every third day, this also promotes a deeper root system. Your lawn will be much more drought tolerant.
Water early in the morning to avoid excessive evaporation; it is usually less windy then as well, and the water pressure is generally higher. Try to avoid watering paved areas, and don’t use your hose to wash sidewalks and driveways.
You can audit your lawn watering by reading your meter prior to the start of lawn watering, and reading it when finished to determine the number of gallons used per cycle.
Leak Detection
How to read meter to detect leaks
First, locate your meter (the majority of meters in Parker Water & Sanitation District are in the basement). Make a note of the meter reading. If the leak detector indicator is moving, there is water moving through the meter.
Turn off all fixtures in and around your home, and don’t use any water for an hour. Then go back and check the reading on the meter, if it has changed, you have a leak or leaks!
How a leak will affect billing
A 1/32” drip can waste 6,166 gallons per month.
A 1/16” trickle can waste 24,666 gallons per month.
A 1/8” stream can waste 98,666 gallons per month.
A 1/4” stream can waste 393,833 gallons per month.
How much water?
How much water does the average household use?
The average family of four uses approximately 240 gallons of water per day, or 60 gallons per day (G.P.D.) per person.
Dishwashing?
Automatic dishwasher uses 10-20 G.P.D.
Hand washing 15 G.P.D.
Laundry?
36 G.P.D.
Bathing?
Full tub- 60 G.P.D., ½ bath – 30 G.P.D.
Shower 53 G.P.D.
Toilets?
100 G.P.D.
We encourage conservation
Free water saving devices – low flow shower heads and faucet aerators, leak detection kits, rain gauges.
Annual Xeriscape garden contest.
Annual Tours of residential Xeriscape gardens and talks with owners.
Detailed Xeriscape information.
Free conservation activity books and handouts for kids. Also have school tours.
