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Best Management Practice: Water-Efficient Landscaping

Traditional landscapes require supplemental water to thrive in most locations. Kentucky bluegrass, for example, is native to regions that receive in excess of 40 inches per year of precipitation, but it is commonly planted in areas across the country that receive much less precipitation.

This page outlines water-efficient landscaping best management practices across:

Overview

Irrigation must be added to make up the difference between landscape water requirements and the natural precipitation in your area. Depending climate, water applied outdoors may be a substantial portion of total water use. If your facility includes any irrigated landscape, exterior water use is an important part of any overall water efficiency program. These principles apply to traditional landscapes as well as cemeteries, golf courses, or other nontraditional landscapes.

There are two facets of outdoor water use efficiency:

  1. Designing a landscape that requires minimal supplemental water.
  2. Designing, installing, and maintaining an irrigation system that applies the appropriate amount of supplemental water in an efficient manner (see BMP #5).

Water-efficient landscapes using native and other "climate-appropriate" materials can reduce irrigation water use by more than 50%, stand up better to drought, reduce drought loss or damage, and require less time and money to maintain.

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Operation and Maintenance

To maintain water efficiency in operations and maintenance, Federal agencies should:

  • Periodically review all landscape service and maintenance agreements to incorporate a high priority for water, chemical, and energy efficiency.

  • Consider hiring landscape contractors that focus on water-efficient or climate-appropriate landscaping. Recommend existing contractors attend courses or seminars to learn these techniques.

  • Encourage landscape contractors to report and/or fix problems. Many landscape contractors not only install and maintain plants in your landscape, but also install and maintain the irrigation system. These contractors can identify and report leaks or other inefficiencies in the landscape.

  • Add mulch to plant beds. Mulch decreases water lost from soil through evaporation and helps reduce weed growth.

  • Maintain a sufficient quantity of good topsoil, four to six inches, to capture storm water as it falls and to release moisture back to plants over time. The result reduces irrigation requirements.

  • Recirculate water in decorative fountains, ponds, and waterfalls. Shut off these features when possible to reduce evaporation losses. Check water recirculation systems annually for leaks and other damage. Consider using non-potable water in these systems (see BMP #14).

  • Alternate turf mowing height between low and high levels. This encourages roots to grow deeply and allows plants to go longer between watering sessions.

  • Keep irrigated landscape weed free so valuable water is consumed only by decorative landscape.

  • Stop using water to clean sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, pool decks, and other hardscapes.

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Retrofit Options

The following retrofit options help Federal agencies maintain water efficiency across facilities:

  • Select drought-tolerant or climate-appropriate turf, trees, shrubs, and ground cover when replanting landscaped areas.

  • Consider reducing the area of turf in your landscape. Most turf requires substantially more water than planted beds, especially if the plants are climate-appropriate and covered with mulch.

  • Eliminate "strip grass" to the greatest extent possible. Small strips of grass, common in parking islands and between sidewalks and the roadway, are hard to maintain and difficult to water efficiently. Use bushes, mulch, or permeable hardscape instead.

  • Implement low-impact development techniques, such as making parking lot islands depressions instead of raised curb areas to capture and retain moisture.

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Replacement Options

The following replacement options help Federal agencies maintain water efficiency across facilities:

  • Replace or install the entire landscape with climate-appropriate, water-efficient plant material. You may be able to design a landscape that doesn't require the use of supplemental water.

  • Design the landscape so plants with similar water needs are grouped together (hydrozoning). This allows for more efficient irrigation.

  • Ensure the landscape is properly designed from the start. Hire a licensed landscape architect or a qualified site planner/designer. Designing with water efficiency in mind limits the clearing of native vegetation. This increases recharge and limits surface runoff, thereby limiting the size of the storm water pond(s).

  • Ensure soil does not need improvement before installing a landscape. Depending on type, soil may need to be amended to ensure water is delivered to the plant in an efficient manner (i.e., good absorption and water holding capacity).

  • Use turf only where it is needed, avoiding long narrow areas that cannot be irrigated effectively.

  • Ensure trees are planted at the appropriate depth.

  • When designing new landscape, avoid the use of ornamental water features.

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Resources

The following resources provide guidance on water best management practices. Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

  • Air Force Water Conservation Guidebook (PDF 1.7 MB): Resource developed by the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency to assist base-level personnel in reducing potable water usage through life-cycle, cost-effective water efficiency programs.

  • American Society for Landscape Architects: Organization dedicated advancing landscape architecture through advocacy, education, communication, and fellowship.

  • Arizona Municipal Water Users Association Facility Manager's Guide to Water Management (PDF 2 MB): Resource to assist in identifying areas where commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities can improve water efficiency within reasonable economic parameters.

  • Denver Water Principles of Xeriscape: Seven principles of xeriscape landscape architecture presented by Denver Water.

  • Colorado WaterWise: Organization dedicated to promoting and facilitating water efficiency in Colorado.

  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) GreenScapes Program: Cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly solutions for landscaping designed to preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution.

  • Water Efficient Landscaping: Preventing Pollution and Using Resources Wisely (PDF 1.7 MB): EPA resource outlining the use of water-efficient landscape strategies and tactics to conserve water.

  • Federal Highway Administration Roadside Use of Native Plants: Department of Transportation resource outlining the need and benefits of using native plants along roadsides.

  • General Services Administration Water Management Guide (PDF 3.6 MB): Comprehensive approach for facility managers explaining new water conservation requirement under Executive Order 13123.

  • Military Handbook: Water Conservation (PDF 580 KB): Military guide on maximizing the efficient use of water resources to support military options and lessen demands placed upon existing water supplies.

  • A Water Conservation Guide for Commercial, Institutional, and Industrial Users (PDF 2.2 MB): Overview of water conservation strategies and benefits presented by the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer.

  • North Carolina Water Efficiency Manual for Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Facilities (PDF 2 MB): Water conservation resource developed and presented by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

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