Irrigation Tips

Did you know that during the winter, our Town-wide water usage is about 4 million gallons per day, but during mid-summer, our usage can peak to 16+ million gallons per day? All of this extra water, about 50% of our entire annual water use, gets poured on our yards. Castle Rock Water has some tips to make irrigation more effective and that landscape healthier in order to be more efficient with water use.

Attend a Water Wiser workshop to learn more.

Observe watering schedules

  • Watering schedules not only promote water efficiency, but can create healthier, more drought tolerant plants. Watering schedules are in effect May 1 through Sept. 30.
  • Watering in the morning (before 8 a.m.) or later in the evening (after 8 p.m.) during the cooler, less windy times of the day, will reduce water loss from evaporation.
  • Interval watering, such as every-third-day, helps promote deeper, healthier roots.  Deeper roots help our lawns become more heat resistant and drought tolerant. 
  • Watering schedules help with demand management, spreading water use more evenly throughout neighborhoods, thus better managing pressure.

Castle Rock Water tools to help with water efficiency

  • Sign up for a workshop for water efficiency, ColoradoScape design, winterization and more to learn best practices.
  • Use the Run Time Calculator to calculate a good estimate of how much water your landscape needs. A good rule of thumb for turf grass is to water no more than 1.5 inches per week when the temperature is above 85 degrees.
  • Check your weather station periodically to adjust for weather conditions. We have local, area-specific weather stations providing temperature, humidity, wind, and solar radiation which is used to calculate the amount of moisture plants need to replenish what has been lost to evaporation and transpiration. 
  • Program for cycle and soak, as this effective deep watering method reduces runoff and allows for more effectively filling the root zone. 
  • Use the Plant Finder to incorporate more ColoradoScape design into the landscape to bring in color and plant variety, while reducing water use and maintenance.