As warmer temps arrive & and watering will soon begin. Here are a few tips to prepare and be drought-aware all summer long.

• Adjust sprinkler heads to avoid watering the sidewalk, streets, or driveways.
• Taller grass shades the soil, reducing evaporation. Keeping your grass 3 inches tall is the sweet spot.
• Watering at night also prevents water from evaporating.
• Choosing plants adapted to your local climate can dramatically reduce your garden’s water needs. Drought-resistant plants often feature deep root systems that tap into underground water sources, reducing their need for supplemental watering.
• Installing a drip irrigation system can reduce water usage by up to 70% compared to traditional sprinklers by delivering water directly to the root zone.
• Moisture meter, a simple tool used to take the guesswork out of watering, ensuring you water only when necessary. Overwatering can lead to shallow root growth, making your plants less drought-tolerant, while underwatering stresses them, reducing yield and beauty.

Water is a finite resource that we all depend on for survival. The Grand Valley, which only receives about 10 inches of precipitation a year, primarily relies on captured snowmelt and rainfall in the Colorado River watershed and reservoirs on the Grand Mesa for domestic and irrigation purposes. 

As a Grand Valley domestic water provider, Clifton Water District recognizes our responsibility as good water stewards require active engagement with our customers and the greater community to provide public education on water conservation and drought conditions. In 2011, we teamed up with the City of Grand Junction and Ute Water Conservancy District to develop a Regional Water Conservation Plan that focuses on the future water needs of the Grand Valley. The plan strives to reduce residential water demand in the Grand Valley by educating the community, landscape contractors, and customers regarding xeric landscapes and water conservation, creating public awareness of wise water use and water conservation, and promoting water saving awareness in commercial and industrial sectors.

Before the Regional Water Conservation Plan and as a direct result of the 2002-2003 drought, we worked with the City of Grand Junction, the Town of Palisade, and the Ute Water Conservancy District to establish a unified strategy about regional drought concerns. A Drought Response Plan was developed to provide the Governing Boards and City Councils with options to consider if water supplies are impacted due to drought or other supply-related problems. The Drought Response Information Project (DRIP) was initiated as a part of the plan to provide education on why and how to reduce per capita consumption across all water use classes in the respective service areas. We all have an obligation to our community to practice water conservation daily.

 

To learn more about ways you can conserve, visit dripinfo.com!