Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and it’s estimated that 115 people move to Austin each day.
It doesn’t matter where you come from or why you’ve decided to move to Texas, we all have something in common while we are here — we need water to survive.
Travis County is currently at a population of 1.4 million and the boom isn’t expected to slow anytime soon. It’s all happening at a time when the water level in Lake Travis is reaching an all time low.
The way water is being managed in the Lower Colorado Basin is flawed. Regardless, water conservation needs to be a way of life for all of us in Central Texas, and not simply a response to periodic droughts and bad management.
With the cooler temperatures of fall (and hopefully more rain), you’ll be able to drastically reduce outdoor watering and your water bill. Also, there is something you can do right now to conserve water without sacrificing the health of your lawn and plants — turn off your sprinkler system.
Even with all the recent rain, many Lake Travis area lawns are being watered because the sprinkler system is still on the summer watering cycle. Over-irrigation is common in the early fall and if you forgot to turn off or adjust your sprinkler system after the summer watering season, now would be a good time to do that. Your lawn can be surprisingly hardy without much water and from October to March you really do not have to water at all.
For some homeowners, it can be tough to watch your lawn turn brown, but it’s not dying … it’s only going dormant. Your lawn will bounce back quickly in springtime and turn green before your know it. If you’re going to plant any trees, shrubs, or grass during the fall, plan on hand watering until the root system is developed.
