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Watering the lawn could cost youBy Randy Buhler 
CSU Extension Agent Logan County, Agronomy After the Sterling City Council's announcement of increased water use rates, interest in lawn turf with lower water use requirements increased. The State Engineer's issuance of 10 gpm (gallons per minute) well permits with precluded uses for outdoor watering leaves recent rural homeowners looking for low water use lawns. Changes in our society norms allow for less formal looks in attire, hairstyle, and landscaping. The investment of extra time, energy, and money in maintenance of landscaping is at risk in our current economy. If we were to make a change in our landscape planting, what could we save for water consumption? The average lawn area for a single-family residence is 5,000 square feet. Our bluegrass lawns require 1 to 2 inches of water per week. Total water use for a season would run about 37 inches. Buffalo grass is a commonly mentioned grass variety for low water use. Buffalo grass would use about 0.25 inches of water per week, or 5.25 inches for the season. Using these general figures would provide a reduction in water use to 1/7 of the bluegrass lawn for a buffalo grass lawn. An inch of water is equivalent to 0.623 gallons per square foot. Calculating the water use at the announced water rates for Sterling would mean a bill of $162 for watering the 5000 square foot bluegrass lawn versus $23 for the buffalo grass lawn. This calculation assumes all water applied through the water meter. To calculate your own lawn's water requirement, first determine the actual square feet of lawn that you water, or want to plant. Multiply the total square feet of lawn area by the factor 0.625 to find the gallons of water used to apply one inch of water. The factor 0.625 is equivalent to 5 pints or 5/8 gallon. Use this same factor to calculate the amount of water to apply to garden or ornamental plantings. The Northern Colorado Water Conservation District has a web page where you can find the water use for turf and the estimated water requirement. The URL for the web page is http://www.ncwcd.org/. At the Home page, look down the left side and click on weather. Then choose weather stations and data/reports. On the next page, choose the closest weather station to your location. A new page comes up with 18 choices. Click on the choice 18) turf water use report. The next page provides the data you need to estimate your turf water use based on past week's water use. Rainfall for Sterling has not been less than the amount required for buffalo grass during the last 60 years. Rainfall has never met the required amount for bluegrass during the last 60 years. The wettest year had less than 21 inches. Bluegrass has a growing season from April through October of 31 weeks. Buffalo grass has a growing season of 21 weeks from May through September. Bluegrass maintains some green color throughout the year. Buffalo grass has a distinct grayish color during its dormant period. Buffalo grass may use less water than bluegrass, but it does not fill the landscaping needs that a bluegrass lawn provides. Buffalo grass needs a full 8 hours of sunlight. It does not grow in shade. Buffalo grass can survive on low inputs when left at a natural height of 4 to 6 inches. Close mowing increases the water use and nitrogen requirement to maintain an acceptable turf quality. The University of Nebraska has worked many years on developing turf varieties of buffalo grass. Their work has achieved varieties that stay green longer than native buffalo grass. The new varieties have finer and softer leaves than native buffalo grass. A future column will discuss planting and maintenance of these new types. 5/19/08 Date: 5/12/08
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