Adjust your watering to keep your landscape healthy and watersmart

As summer temperatures rise in the Valley, outdoor water usage tends to increase significantly. To ensure your landscape remains healthy and vibrant during these warmer months, it's crucial to keep your irrigation system in optimal working condition. This includes checking for leaks, ensuring even coverage, and adjusting sprinkler heads as needed. When it comes to watering, adopting the practice of watering deeply but less frequently can significantly benefit your plants. Deep watering encourages strong root development, making your landscape more resilient to heat and drought. 

Although it may seem intuitive to provide more water in rising temperatures, this isn't always necessary. Overwatering can lead to issues like shallow root systems and increased susceptibility to diseases. By following these guidelines, you can maintain a lush, thriving outdoor space while using water efficiently.

Water deeper and less often, even when the temperatures soar

Slow the flow. You want to water slowly and deeply to ensure that moisture reaches the roots of your plants. If water is applied too quickly, it won’t absorb and will run into unwanted areas of your yard. When you water deeply, you won’t need to water as often. Proper watering  is essential in our arid climate because the heat and wind quickly dry out the soil's surface.

When watering correctly, deeply, and not as frequently, even your thirstiest plants, like grass, can be watered no more than twice a week. Established trees and shrubs require watering only once every other week. And desert-adapted plants need even less. However, if you notice some of your plants are struggling during periods of extreme heat, they can be supplemented with some extra water.

Most people tend to overwater their landscapes, including plants that require little water, which leads to excessive disease growth and other maintenance issues. Deep, and less frequent watering fosters strong, healthy root systems that can better withstand intense heat and periods of drought.

Watering at the optimal time is crucial for achieving water efficiency during the hottest months. Avoid watering when it’s windy, as that valuable water can blow away or evaporate. When it rains, allow your irrigation system to rest for a few days; if you have a smart irrigation timer, it will make the necessary adjustments for you. Lastly, refrain from watering during the sunniest and hottest parts of the day, when water will simply evaporate. Instead, aim to water early in the morning, one to three hours before sunrise.

Inspect and properly maintain your irrigation system

Another key aspect of efficient watering is ensuring that your system operates properly. Therefore, take time for an irrigation check-up, especially when summer weather intensifies. Many homeowners rely on automated irrigation controllers for their yards. While these controllers can be dependable, the pipes, sprinkler heads, and drip lines may not be as reliable. Drip lines are especially vulnerable to the elements. High temperatures, dust, and rain can clog, crack, or damage emitters and lines. In such cases, when your reliable irrigation controller fails to turn on, plants may go unwatered, or excess water may pool or runoff into the street.

It's as simple as turning on your irrigation system and walking around to inspect that everything is working correctly. Check sprinkler heads for damage, including clogs caused by grass and debris such as leaves.AMWUA's Smart Home Water Guide  can help. It will help you identify any leaks that need to be fixed before too much water is wasted.  Additional information on irrigation system maintenance is also available on the Landscaping with Style  website. 

Now that you have a better understanding of how to manage your irrigation wisely, you can maintain a healthy landscape while using water efficiently outdoors, even during the scorching summer temperatures. The bottom line is to keep it simple – water correctly, and your landscape can thrive with much less water.

For more information on outdoor watering, check out this interactive watering guide  specifically designed for the Phoenix metro area and its unique conditions. This watering guide walks you through how much and how often to water, shows you how to set your irrigation timer, troubleshoot your system, and provides many other tips on outdoor watering.

July is Smart Irrigation Month , a perfect time to transform your outdoor watering habits by making simple changes to achieve efficient and effective watering (and save money) this summer. 

For additional resources and information, visit our conservation pages .

For 56 years, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association has helped protect our member cities' ability to provide their communities with assured, safe, and sustainable water supplies. For more information, visit www.amwua.org .