Water Wise Denton

There is so much focus on saving water through irrigation habits, but what if you live in an apartment or have xeriscaping? There are still ways to conserve, check out these tips for conserving water while in the bathroom:

• Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving. Fill the sink to shave instead of letting the water run.
• Check toilets for leaks. Add about 12 drops of food coloring, or a leak-detection tablet, into the tank. If color appears in the bowl an hour later, then there is a leak.
• Install a toilet displacement device in the toilet tank. Place a plastic bottle, weighted with water or sand, into the tank, making sure that it doesn’t interfere with the flushing mechanism. Don’t use a brick, which may chip.
• If you are buying a new toilet, select a low-flush model that uses less than 1.5 gallons of water per flush.
• Take shorter showers. Install a water-saving showerhead, which can cut water usage in the shower from 5–7 gallons per minute to just 3 gallons per minute.

As the weather finally (somewhat, sort of) cools off, its a great time to think about next summer. Choose drought tolerant perennials for your landscape, check sprinkler heads, apply mulch, and consider xeriscaping for native beauty with minimal work.

Remember to adjust your sprinklers to account for the rain! Use water wisely and avoid flooding your yard.

Now is also a great time to add mulch to your yard and protect fall plantings.

Yesterday we used 5 million more gallons than used Sunday. While the cool spell was welcome and nice, lake levels are still decreasing. Lake Lewisville is now down 79.8% and Ray Roberts is down 93.2%. Please continue to follow the summer watering ordinance which is in effect through the end of September.

Yesterday's water usage was 29.5 Million Gallons. Thank you all for adjusting your water habits when it rained. The next few days predict rain, please continue to adjust your watering habits (especially set-it-and-forget -it sprinkler systems). While we are so very grateful for the much needed rain, the lake levels do still continue to drop. Lewisville is down to 80.8% and Ray Roberts is down to 93.6%.We can continue to mitigate lake level reductions by only irrigating when necessary.

We are very excited to have finally received some rain! Please help us use the rain to its full benefit - adjust your sprinklers to skip today/ tomorrows watering so we can reduce the amount of water we need to pull from the lake.

Friendly reminder that there is an annual watering ordinance which prohibits the watering of lawns from 10 am to 6 pm from June 1 through September 30.

Lake Levels continue to drop, Lewisville is now down to 81.8% and Ray Roberts is down to 94.1%

Please continue to conserve, forecasted rain is not a guarantee, and conservation matters both in time of drought and time of plenty.

Have you seen the wonderful news? North Texas is supposed to receive a cool front next Monday! The outside is once again habitable and many of us will have the urge to garden again. As things become green once more, remember to plant drought tolerant plants, trees, and shrubs so that your investment lasts through next summer.

A great choice is Grapes! Grapes have extensive root systems, which allow them to survive when other plants succumb to the heat. There are many varieties that thrive in Zone 8, and muscadine grapes do exceptionally well in this area.