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Reduce winter water use and save money in 2023

SAWS sewer charges are based on your average winter water use. So, watering your landscape less now can add up to big savings all year long.

Fall and winter water use can impact your water bills for coming year, so it’s important to cut back on watering now.

SAWS sewer charges are based on your average winter water use. That means the less water you use from mid-November to mid-March, the lower your monthly sewer service charge will be for the rest of 2023. So, watering your landscape less now can add up to big savings all year long.

Since your landscape is the single biggest water user, turning off your automatic irrigation system is the easiest way to save water.

I know you’re thinking that your landscape must be watered. Not true. Evergreen shrubs, trees and even your St. Augustine lawn go dormant in the fall and winter. And, of course, native and adapted plants seldom require supplemental water beyond natural rainfall.

Here are two ways to reduce your landscape water use.

Use the seasonal adjust. Open the cover to irrigation system controller and find the dial position or button that controls the seasonal adjustment, which reduces the run time for each zone. For example, the normal recommendation for grass in the sun is 20 minutes. Reducing the seasonal adjust to 20% would equal a run time of only four minutes. We recommend 0-10% from December to February.

Use the holiday method. Select one and only one holiday each month and run your system manually with normal run times. As an alternative, schedule your system to run on your watering day during drought restrictions and then just flip it on that holiday. Just remember to turn it off after you run it.

Saving water and money has never been easier.

Picture of Mark Peterson
Mark Peterson
Mark A. Peterson was a conservation project coordinator for San Antonio Water System before retiring. With over 30 years of experience as an urban forester and arborist, Mark is probably the only person you know who actually prunes trees for fun. When not expounding on the benefits of trees and limited lawns, you're likely to find him hiking San Antonio's wilderness parks or expounding on the virtues of geography and history to his friends.
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