Programmatic Approaches
Programmatic approaches to promote landscape planning and design for
water conservation include both educational and incentive programs. Education
can take
advantage of local resources including, where found, Cooperative Extension
offices, local
chapters of the American Institute of Architects, local homebuilders
associations, local
landscape and nursery associations, Master Gardeners, and other and gardening
groups.
Educational materials can include pamphlets for customers with guidelines
on how they
can design their own home landscape, booths, and/or workshops at home & garden
shows
which are held throughout the state.
Following is an example of content of a WaterWise Brochure produced
by the Texas
Nursery & Landscape Association and the Texas WaterWise Council.
WaterWise Landscaping Principles
- Planning and Design
Draw a layout of your yard showing existing structures, trees, shrubs,
grass, and other
plants. Determine your landscape budget, preferred style, function
of the area(s), drainage
needs, maintenance, and water requirements. Next, sketch your desired
landscape plan.
Be sure to group plants with like water needs together.
- Soil Evaluation and Improvement
The very best thing you can do for your plants and be WaterWise is
to build deep, high
quality soil. A minimum depth of 6 inches of good soil is desirable,
but 12-18 inches is
preferable. Native and adapted plants do extremely well with native
soils, but improved
soils benefit most plant species.
Top-dress your turf with shallow layers of quality soil amendments
to build a deeper,
richer soil profile. This can be done periodically and goes a long
way toward improving
your turfgrass quality. (continued)
Waterwise Landscape Brochure Example (continued)
Composts and landscape soils are available. Incorporating generous
amounts into
planting beds will reward your landscape with a larger reservoir of
moisture-holding
matter. Contact the Soil Testing laboratory at 979-845-4816 for soil
test information.
- Practical Turf Areas
Turfgrasses generally require more frequent watering than native or
adapted plants, so
use grass in functional areas that can be efficiently watered. For
example, instead of
grass, put ground cover in areas that are narrow, small, sloping, odd-shaped,
or close to
pavement. Many ground cover plants are more water conserving than turfgrass
and
require substantially less maintenance.
- Appropriate Plant Selection
Choose trees, shrubs, and ground covers that are either native or adapted
to your climate
and soil. Consult with professional horticulturists in your area or
Texas Cooperative
Extension for plants best suited to your area.
- Efficient Irrigation
Plants don’t waste water, people do. Water early in the day to
minimize water loss from
evaporation. The sun is less intense and wind is likely to be light
or absent.
Water only when plants need it. Too much watering not only wastes water,
but also can
push nutrients away from the plant roots and leads to more weeding
and pruning. Excess
water also causes development of shallow root systems and encourages
more disease and
insect problems. Plants in hot summer months need water only when they
show signs of
stress in the morning. Plants show stress in the afternoon due to the
heat of the day and
not necessarily the need for water.
Adjust sprinklers to water vegetation, not pavement, and sidewalks.
Adjust automatic
sprinklers to run at intervals appropriate for the season. Practice
deep, infrequent
watering to encourage deep root systems. Use sprinklers that produce
large drops of
water rather than a fine spray to minimize evaporation. Drip irrigation
works well in nonturf
areas.
When installing a new irrigation system or upgrading an old system,
be sure to engage
the services of a licensed irrigation contractor. It’s the law.
Lists of licensed individuals
are available at www.tceq.tx.state.us
- Use of Mulches
Use mulches wherever possible. Mulches reduce evaporation of water
from the soil and
limit wee d growth. They also help reduce soil water loss and erosion,
help moderate soil
temperatures, aid in good root development by adding rich organic matter
to the soils (if
the mulch is organic), slows or eliminate wee growth that competes
for water and nutrias,
and add beauty. (continued)
At least 3-4 inches of mulch should be maintained
at all times around plants and trees.
Replenish often since organic matter decomposes over time. Keep mulch
from making
direct contract with the trunks of trees or woody ornamentals. Extend
mulch out to the
drip line where possible. (continued)
- Appropriate Maintenance
Weed lawn sand gardens as needed.
Weeds rob plants of valuable water. Check irrigation
systems for leaks. Control insect and disease problems when they arise
and feed and
fertilize only as needed. Mow grass at proper heights.
Fertilization
Proper application of nutrients assures healthy plants. Too much fertilizer
causes plants to
require additional mowing and irrigation. Leave lawn clippings on the
lawn, instead of
bagging. This enriches the soil and reduces fertilizer needs. Fertilizing
once or twice a
year is sufficient for most grasses and once a year is sufficient for
other plants. Use slow
release fertilizer for best results.
Mowing
Mowing height for turfgrass affects watering needs. Less frequent watering
is required
for plant material mowed at its optimum height. Evaporation from the
soil is also reduced
with a longer leaf blade. Use sharp blades on mowers and do not remove
more than onethird
of the leaf blade at each mowing.
This information is provided by the Texas WaterWise Council in cooperation
with your
Texas certified nursery/landscape professionals.
Incentives to encourage
proper planning and design can include awards programs, rebate
programs for landscape conversion, and points toward a “green” business
or landscape
permit approval process. The first of these two awards and rebates
are programmatic
approaches, the third, requirements for building permits or plan
approvals, requires
ordinance or service rules, and will be dealt with in the next section.
Awards programs which recognize good planning and design for low
water-use
landscapes can be run as part of a broader landscape award program
which recognizes
Xeriscape or native landscapes. These award programs are often run
with local partners
including Master Gardeners, Cooperative Extension agents, representatives
of the "Green" industry, and landscape architects. Such
programs often include signage and
recognition in local media for the individual property owner, whether
business or
residential, a neighborhood association or homeowners association
and sometimes
include cash awards or free or discounted landscape supplies provided
by local contest
sponsors. Caution should be taken in designing and implementing an
award program to
ensure that aesthetic considerations do not outweigh water savings.
Comparison of
contestants’ monthly water use to their neighborhood or citywide
average can help show
that award winners are conserving water.
Rebate programs which include design components include the San
Antonio’s
Watersaver program which is multi-faceted and requires participants
to submit a design
as part of the rebate application process for a landscape conversion.
Stand-alone rebates
for design are unlikely to be found due to the relationship between
the final converted
landscape and water savings. The conversion is the “proof” of
compliance with the
design. However, good planning and design are essential to get the
most water use
efficient landscape.
Programmatic Approach to Landscape Plant Selection
Utilities interested in promoting plants which will demand less water
have created
programs focused both on education and on incentive(s). The database
included on the
Urban Landscape Guide website is provided as a tool to assist in
educating utility
customers and staff about the types of plants which will perform
well without the need
for excessive watering in all regions of the state. The database
also includes information
about nutrition needs and pest and disease resistance, attributes
which affect water
demand and water quality. Several utilities and water districts in
Texas have created
service area specific guides to assist their customers in plant selection.
These can be used
as models of how to organize a program while using the statewide
database in the U.L.G. Three are listed below:
El Paso offers a list of plants which are well adapted for the
desert under
the title Dessert Blooms; http://www.epwu.org/conservation/plants.html a more detailed guide to low water use landscapes in an arid environment
is found in their CD-Rom, Desert Blooms which can be ordered from
EPWU.15
Lower Colorado River Authority: Produces the Hill Country Landscape
Options for use by homeowners, developers and municipalities as a
guide
for low water use landscapes. The [hotlink:
http://www.lcra.org/water/hillcountrylandscapes.html ] contains plant
lists,
design and maintenance tips.
San Antonio: Landscape Care Guide includes seasonal guidance on
landscape
maintenance for low water use or XeriscapeTM landscapes. The attractive
guidebook is available for sale, or free for those who attend water
conservation
workshops – an instructive example of how educational materials
can help entice
customers to learn more about water conservation. San Antonio has
held a Water
Saver Landscape competition annually since the early 1990s which
is presented as
a Case Study on p. 26.
Another educational program of interest is the City of Corpus Christi’s
Purple Water-
Wise Plant Labels. The Program involves cooperation among the City’s
conservation
program, a non-profit, Xeriscape Corpus Christi, commercial nurseries,
and Texas
Cooperative Extension to bring to public awareness of plants that
are proven performers
and low water users in the Coastal Bend. Purple labels are affixed
to Water Wise and
drought-tolerant plants offered at retail nurseries. Utility customers
and nurseries have
expressed appreciation for the program, and sales figures indicate
it has been successful
at encouraging purchase of the labeled plant. Advertising includes
30 second PSAs on
radio and TV, utility printed banners and handouts which are displayed
at the nurseries.
Incentive Approach
Financial incentives for plant selection typically focus on turf
replacement. Such
programs can include rebates for replacement of existing turf, and
care calculated on a
basis of square footage of turf replaced. Fee rebates can be offered
to homeowners in new
developments who select a Water Wise landscape. By calculating the
ET for the utility
service area, the conservation staff can determine the potential
water savings, and thus
the cost of water saved.
Developing an Awards Program for Xeriscapes:
The San Antonio Water Saver Landscape Awards
Awards programs allow the utility to use a limited amount of
financial resources to draw attention to the
types of landscape practices that are desired in the community.
The Water Saver Landscape Awards
Program in San Antonio has been run for more than a decade with
cooperation between the Edwards
Aquifer Authority, San Antonio River Authority, San Antonio Parks
and Recreation, San Antonio
Botanical Garden, the San Antonio Water System, and the Garden
Volunteers of South Texas. Each
year, a committee is formed with representatives of these organizations.
The criteria for determining
award winners have been developed and adjusted over the years
since the program started.
In the early years of the contest,
both neighborhood associations and individuals could win a
prize.
Neighborhood associations were encouraged to enter if they
had five or more qualifying yards within
their neighborhood. Each yard had to be at least 50% Xeriscape.
Prizes in the early version of the
program were $500 for the neighborhood association and $100
each for each of the winning yards. In
recent years, as neighborhood associations who were willing
to participate and had potential to win have
won the prize, and so that prize was dropped from the contest.
Currently the awards have gone to
individual homeowners and the prizes have been adjusted to
reward 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners.
Another important aspect
of the program that was introduced in the late 1990’s
was that the water use
patterns of the homeowner were included in the criteria for
awarding the prize. This addressed a concern
which arose because as a number of studies have found, some
people convert to Xeriscape plants and
continue to over over-water their landscapes.
he prizes are not cash, but gift certificates to local nurseries
for the purchase of Xeriscape plants. The
winners are determined based upon a score sheet which assigns
values to each of the seven Water Wise
principles. The water agencies which sponsor the contest send
their representatives out for a full day in a
van together to tour the yards of the contestants and score
each yard. The Program is promoted by all the
agencies with brochures, an application form, and announcements
in local media outlets.
On Mother’s Day each year, the award winners are expected
to hold an open house event where they
make their yards available to the public to see what they have
done with their award-winning
landscapes. The homeowner does not need to be present and may
allow the back yard to viewed, but is
only required to allow people to view the front yard as part
of the contest.
The winning homes are staffed by Master Gardener
volunteers during the open house, and the list of
winners is publicized in the local paper. Local residents who
are interested in viewing the yards then can
tour around and talk with both the homeowner and/or the Master
Gardener volunteer about what went in
to producing the water-saving landscape.
Over the years of the contest, a change has happened in the
nature of San Antonio landscapes. In the late
90s, if one drove through a San Antonio neighborhood which
was part of the contest, one would see the
yards of the contestants with Xeriscapes and few other yards
within a neighborhood had Xeriscape
landscapes. Now, it is not uncommon in San Antonio to see elements
of Water Wise landscaping in
many yards, small bedded plots along the curb or the sidewalks
featuring attractive, flowering, low
water use plants and the use of buffalograss, zoysiagrass,
or other low water demanding turf. Thus, the
Watersaver Award Program has not only helped, educate those
who are already interested, but also
rewarded those who have taken the steps to change their landscape,
but also and helped the public in
general to choose attractive, water saving plants for their
yards. |
An important caution for programs which choose to reward
their customers financially
for replacing turf is that the plants do not control watering schedules
and thus there is no
guarantee that water savings will be achieved. To ensure that water
savings goals are met
it is recommended the utility include provisions specific to water
consumption. For
example, if a customer’s water use increases in the year after
installation of the new
landscape (compared month to month), the utility could require all
or part of the financial
incentive to be refunded. One potential difficulty of this approach
is that all plants require additional water during establishment
to assist in root growth and the plant’s stress
reaction to transplanting. Transplanted trees may require additional
water for as much as
two years in order to develop a healthy root system and become well
established.
Water Wise Landscape incentives can be based upon square footage
of landscape
installed with low water use features (plants and permeable non-plant
material) or by the
size and type of plants installed [http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon/landscape.htm].
The city of Austin also provides additional incentives for soil amendments
[http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon/soilrebate.htm]. The city of
El Paso’s program is
designed to replace turfgrass, and like the Austin program, specifies
the types and sizes of
species to be planted. Builders of developments and commercial properties
can also
receive incentives [http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon/soilbuilders.htm],
including
lowered impact fees, or points toward a required landscape elements
for installation of
Water Wise landscapes or improved soil amendment.
Rebate amounts in Texas range from $0.025 per square foot to $1
per square foot of
turfgrass landscape replaced. Austin’s landscape rebate is
tied to the specific plants used
in the WaterWise landscape. Pre-approval steps for landscape rebates
include an
application form; a landscape plan including the size of the yard
to be converted; and a
pre-installation inspection to ensure that information in the application
is accurate.
Specific measures of the programs often differ in details and can
be examined on their
websites. Most have a maximum allowable turf limit (usually 50%);
San Antonio and
Austin cap their rebate at $500 per customer, and Austin has a requirement
that
customers maintain water savings while San Antonio
[http://www.saws.org/conservation/h2ome/landscape/ ] offers additional
funds to those
who meet water saving goals, or who use native plants or no irrigation
system. El Paso’s
program [http://www.epwu.org/conservation/turf_rebate.html] offers
the highest rebate
amount in Texas and is examined in a Case Study on page 27. Landscape
rebate
programs also require post-inspections to determine that the plan
has been followed.
El Paso’s Turf Replacement Program
El Paso’s turf replacement program is designed to remove turf from
the desert
environment and replace it with plant materials and landscaping that
are more
appropriate to the local climate. El Paso receives on average approximately
8 inches
of water each year. The program is targeted both to residential and commercial
customers. The minimum amount of turf that must be removed to qualify
for a rebate
is 100 square feet. The rebate amount is $1.00 per square foot of turfgrass
removed.
Program qualification requires landscape plans and an approved application
prior to
replacing the turf. The funds are limited by program budget, so it is
run on a first
come, first served basis. Funds are not limited for an individual landscape,
so it is
possible for very large landscapes to eat up a large amount of the program
budget in
any particular month or year.
Research indicates the program has been successful in reducing
water use by El Paso
customers. A 2004 study indicated that the average savings were 36,000
gallons per
year per participating household, with the bulk of those savings
achieved between
May and October. The chart below shows the average gallons per day
of residential
customer water savings over 4-year program delivery.
Water Smart Homes, Green Building, LEED ratings
Several incentive programs for builders and architects have been developed
to address
energy efficiency. Over the past several years similar efforts have been
started to
encourage water efficiency in new construction. LEED (Leadership in Energy
Efficiency
Design) and local Green Building initiatives have a few existing water
efficiency
elements, and their leaders have been examining ways of increasing their
incentives for
water efficiency. Water Smart Homes [http://www.snwa.com/html/cons_wshome.html],
a
program based in Las Vegas, Nevada, gives builders specific requirements
for water
efficiency for either individual homes, or a Water Smart Neighborhood
designation.
Florida Water StarSM [http://www.floridawaterstar.com/] and the
EPA’s
new Water Sense
[www.epa.gov/watersense/] labeling program16 are water-specific initiatives
to
encourage water efficiency. In today’s real estate market, the “Green” label
can assist
builders in selling designs which deliver savings in utility bills,
recognition in the
community and the satisfaction of developing and using a building
with reduced impacts
on the environment.
Utility water conservation programs can work directly with existing
recognition/certification programs or consider starting a program
specific to their community. Some of the utility specific incentives
could include:
- lower impact fees for meter hookup
- publicity for the builder and/or developer paid for by the utility
- education of consumers about the benefits of lower water bills,
maintenance time,
and increased future value of energy and water efficient homes
- rebates and other financial incentives from energy and water utilities
for installing
efficient appliances, using efficient construction methods and materials,
and
reduced use of water wasting outdoor practices.
The list below gives a series of contacts for conservation programs
which are interested
in pursuing certification incentives:
- LEED [http://www.usgbc.org/] – Includes points for
rainwater harvesting
systems: This program is coordinated by the U.S. Green Building
Council. At the
time of publication of this Manual, guidelines and points for water
efficiency
measures are being upgraded. The Council’s website should
be consulted for the
latest program guidelines.
- Green Building programs like those in San Antonio
[http://www.buildsagreen.org/] and Austin
[http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Efficiency/Programs/Green%20Building/index.htm]
include use of plant lists, Water Wise landscape principles,
rainwater harvesting, landscape guidelines limiting turf to no
more than 50% of
the landscape, and minimum soil depth, are typically coordinated
between city
and local homebuilders associations.
- Water Smart Homes [http://www.snwa.com/html/cons_wshome.html]
an
initiative of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) provides
incentives
for new home builders to limit turf, reduce overall outdoor water
use, limit the
size of pools, and install efficient irrigation systems. The detailed
rules are
included in appendix. ????
- Water Star Florida [http://www.floridawaterstar.com/] is an effort
similar to
SNWA’s Water Smart Homes. One of the technologies they promote
is soil
moisture sensors. They also provide workshops for homebuyers, homebuilders
and independent certifiers as part of their promotional/educational
mission.
Each of these incentive programs also has indoor water conservation
elements and could
provide an opportunity to implement indoor conservation BMPs (BMPs
2.4, 2.5, 2.6) or
the Rainwater Harvesting BMP 2.18. For some utilities who have home
rule authority or
who lack the infrastructure to implement incentive programs, some
of the elements of the
programs above can be pursued through local ordinance powers. |
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