INDIANAPOLIS — We’re expected to see a dry stretch through the weekend. This combined with the summer heat means some Hoosiers think their grass may need a lot more water to stay green, but experts say that’s not the case.
WRTV looked at how much water your yard actually needs to stay healthy and how homeowners can take advantage of natural resources to get the job done.
"Indiana lawns only need water twice a week and oftentimes, even people forget when they have that automatic lawn irrigation system that rain counts,” explained Ben Easley, a spokesperson for Citizens Energy Group.
Staying on top of when it rains is something John Jointer Jr. knows all too well as the owner of Relentless Landscaping and Hauling.
The weather plays can play a big role in helping make sure the lawns he takes care of thrives.
"This has been one of our best seasons due to the amount of rain we've been getting,” he said. “To conserve water, I do a lot of weather tracking so with the weather tracking try to see what days we are having rain.”
According to the WRTV storm team, the area has seen consistent rain since May, but when summer temperatures rise-- you might feel like your lawn needs more.
Easley also shared tipswith homeowners on ways to conserve water while taking care of your lawn:
1. Shut off your automatic irrigation system when it rains.
2. Avoid watering your lawn when the sun is at its peak during the middle of the day
3. Make sure your irrigation system is properly configured isn’t over spraying onto the sidewalk or street
4. Get to know your lawn
These are just a handful of helpful tips that can help you conserve water, save money, by preventing you from over-watering --- something that can not only be harmful to your lawn but the local distribution system.
"In central Indiana, we use about 100 million gallons of water each day on lawn irrigation,” Easley explained. "We find that the stress on the system comes especially when people have those automatic irrigation systems that are often programmed to pull water at the same time each day."
Although you'll have to be a little patient for the next time it rains you can still use less water to see more green in your lawn and your wallet when rain does come back around
"It’s keeping the customers water bills down and that's an extra chore the client doesn't have to worry about," said Jointer Jr.
