The Truckee Meadows Water Authority, or TMWA, supplies potable water from the Truckee River to the Truckee Meadows area. In winter, TMWA releases about 40 million gallons of water a day, and in the summer, they release up to 145 million. That’s enough extra water to fill up 45 kiddie pools every second. Since Reno doesn’t have a seasonal population, there is one culprit for the extra usage — irrigation.
Now is the time when landscaping and irrigation come into play, said Andy Gebhardt, director of distribution services for TMWA.
“Once spring hits, people start watering again. And then the summer is going to hit, and then, usually July and August are pretty hot for us, and so everybody turns their water on, keeps those lawns a little green, and you're gonna get high usage,” Gebhardt said.
Though water usage is high, he said per-person usage has decreased since the early 2000s. Even with its growing population, people in Reno are using less water. Reasons include conservation programs, high-efficiency appliances and metering systems.
“We used to be an unmetered system, so if you're not metered, you don't have any price index to tell you whether you need to quit using as much water, or ‘I can use some more,’” Gebhardt said.
Currently TMWA has no limit to the amount of water a household can use. But, rates will increase to higher tiers if a property uses more than 6,000 gallons a month. Lawn watering is only allowed on certain days and times, and Gebhardt said people can call their hotline to report excessive water usage.
Even with limitless water usage, landscapers see how property owners want to conserve water. Terry Miller, a landscaper with T&T Lawns Plus, said most yards these days use xeriscaping. This means designing yards with little or no water. Drip irrigation is a popular option that uses one gallon of water per hour compared to a popup sprinkler that uses six.
At Moana Nursery, Steve Packer is known as the plant doctor. For native landscaping plants, he said incorporating drip irrigation with drought-tolerant and heat-tolerant options is a safe way to conserve water at home. These options include junipers, catmint or daylilies. Water-wise plants like these still need to be maintained, though.
“A lot of times people say, ‘Can you sell me a plant that doesn't need any water at all?’ I go, ‘Well, we do sell plants that are water-wise, but it takes them at least two to three seasons before they become water-wise or fully established, and then they don't need to be watered as much.’ They still need to be watered, but not as much,” Packer said,
Once the plants are established, he said keeping up with your irrigation system is critical. This means watering in the morning before the afternoon sun and wind evaporate it. It also means paying attention to the seasons.
“Another thing that happens is people set their clock and they keep that schedule throughout the whole season. And what should actually happen is, in the spring, you're watering not as much because it's cooler, and then in the summer, you increase your water time because it's hotter. And then in the fall, you need to decrease your watering again,” Packer said.
Even with a normal snowpack this winter, proper xeriscaping can benefit yards for years to come, Packer said.
