Water Wise Denton

WHAT IS GREYWATER?

Greywater is the name given to water that’s already been used for washing purposes, like laundry, handwashing, showering, and bathing (NOT water that’s been in contact with feces, like from the toilet or washing diapers). Greywater systems, then, are used to redirect and recycle this “once-used” water for other purposes. Greywater may look unclean (it does have the characteristic “grey” tint, after all), but it’s perfectly suitable for watering the garden, irrigating your lawn, and more.

IS GREYWATER SAFE FOR PLANTS?

For the purposes greywater typically serves, like irrigating lawns, ornamental gardens, or trees, greywater is safe (if you use the right cleaners and body care products) — and can even be beneficial. Greywater contains traces of dirt, food, grease, and hair, which become pollutants when released into bodies of water. But to plants, these things are nutrients and valuable fertilizers. This makes greywater an even better option for watering and irrigation than regular water!

Greywater systems are becoming increasing popular as water resources are being divided amongst more and more people. Greywater systems allow homeowners to separate and divert greywater from other genberated wastewater (used toilet water, etc...) and reuse that water for irrigation, cutting down on their water bill and cutting down on overall demand on our water system.

Installing a greywater system may or may not be right for you. There are many resources on the internet, including YouTube that can further detail greywater systems to help you decide if a greywater system could benefit you.

Yesterday we had our highest spring 2024 usage to date at 19.6 MIllion Gallons, we also received .93 inches of rain that day. please remember, sprinklers must be adjusted to accommodate for rainfall, newer sprinkler systems are equipped with rain sensors, and older models can be retrofitted with rain sensors.

Have you ever been in the middle of a Texas Summer and marveled at the prairie grasses and flowers? Somehow these plants thrive without irrigation, while lawn grasses are barely hanging on. Prairie Grasses (below) have massive root systems that sustain the plants. These root systems often exceed 6 feet deep.

. Compared with typical turf, St Augustine or Bermuda Grass (below), is much more resilient to drought. It's no wonder so many people are making the switch to native landscaping!

Save water, money, and time by giving your sprinkler system a “Spruce Up”. Learn how minor do-it-yourself repairs and simple irrigation tips can make a MAJOR impact on the health of your landscape and your water bill. If you’ve got questions about your controller or how much your lawn and landscape really needs, we've got the information.

Join us for a FREE class March 30th from 2-3 pm at the South Branch Library

to register: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ek1kgs856f8ecfb9&oseq=&c=&ch=

We have had a few citizens reach out regarding the likelihood of water restrictions this summer. This is a simple question, but the answer can be a bit complex.

Every year from June 1st - September 30th, irrigation is not allowed during the daytime hours of 10am - 6pm. No matter how rainy or dry the weather is that summer, we will always have these restrictions in place.

There may be additional restrictions imposed, either depending on the availability of our water supply or the demand of our customers. Water Supply is based on our lake levels, which is directly affected our weather. Where we have more control as a community, is on the DEMAND side of the equation. This is based on how much water our residents use. When usage hits a certain threshold, we are legally required by the TCEQ to implement restrictions. We did NOT have to do so last summer, but we did come close. The graph below displays our actual usage against the restrictions in place.

Here you can see that towards the end of August we were very close to legally being required to roll out restrictions. The high usage during this time is directly attributed to landscape irrigation.

That said, you have the power to keep us from hitting trigger levels and rolling out additional restrictions by adopting water wise landscaping! We will continue to post tips on heat and drought proofing your landscape as we near summer.

Planning to garden this year? Make your garden water wise and productive through the use of compost and mulch.

Learn how at the FREE webinar hosted by Upper Trinity Water District from 12pm-1pm on March 6th

Click Here to register: Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

February rain totals are currently at 1.73", an average February total is 2.92".

We are behind 1.19" for the month, and winter/ spring rainfall is crucial to get us through the summer months. The largest discretionary use of water is irrigation, and you can make a difference now by switching from sprinklers to bubblers and soaker hoses, or even considering xeriscape. Many residents start small, xeriscaping a small portion of their yard at a time.

Avoid the temptation of tropical landscaping, while many tropical plants do well in our heat, they require extensive watering to mimic their rainy environment. Choose beautiful native prairie plants for a water friendly and pollinator friendly landscape.

Are you familiar with the term reuse water? Reuse water refers to treated wastewater that has been repurposed for beneficial use, rather than returned to the lake. Water is pulled from our lakes, treated at our plants, delivered to homes and businesses, used and sent down the drain, then cleaned up and returned to the lake.

Some uses of water don't require full treatment to drinking standards, watering fields, coolant towers, and other applications where the water is not going to be used for human consumption. As part of our commitment to conservation, Denton offers certain customers reuse water. This saves treatment costs and recycles the water we already have.

For more information, check out our reuse program online: https://www.cityofdenton.com/1061/Reuse-Water

When water wise landscaping is discussed, two terms will often pop up as good choices, "Native" and "Adaptive." The difference between these two classification are that Native Plants are plants that have adapted and evolved to our area without human intervention, whereas Adaptive Plants are hardy species that have been introduced to Texas via the horticulture community. Both types of plants are great choices for the area. To learn more, click here Native_and_Adapted_PLants_for_North_TX_AgriLife.pdf (ctfassets.net) to access A&M Agrilife's handy listing of native and adaptive species for our area.