New Austin Water Restrictions

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YoLaDu

Guest
Not sure where this should be posted, but since there is alot of topics on lawn care on here, i thought this might work.

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Wow, going to one day a week beginging 8/24/09. Say goodbye to my lawn. It's barely hanging on on a two day a week schedule.

No more warnings will be issued. $500 fine for violation. Ouch.
 
This should've been implemented at the start of summer, imo. Well-planned yards/landscapes don't need that much water.
 
KVUE managed to run a story without explaining what the actual restrictions were, only saying that there would be fines assessed for violating them.

Thanks for the details.
 
There would not have been as sensational story had KVUE told the whole story now, right? What fun is to report facts as they are without being overly dramatic and doom/gloom, especially for a local outlet?
 
This idea that your grass can't survive on one day a week water is not true.

I am lazy. Very lazy with things like watering grass. I have watered my grass a total of 5 times this entire summer. Yes, there has been a little rain mixed in, but not much.

My grass is still green. It is a little crisp, for sure, but it is still green.

Essentially, I wait until it starts turning yellow/brown and then water it for about 30 minutes. That is usually about once every 2-3 weeks without rain.

It won't look plush and bright green, but it will survive. It is really not that much to deal with. Especially considering you are growing a non native grass that should not even be planted here.

My personal opinion is that rationing never works and is a ridiculous idea for conserving water. Water is cheap. Especially when considering it's importance. I think that water rates should increase as the drought stages increase. Where, by the time you get to the current drought stage, you are paying about triple what you normally pay for water. THAT will cause conservation faster than anything, and it will cause people to seriously consider things before planting a a grass like St Aug in a place it should not be. And it will also allow for people who can afford it, and just really want green grass, to keep their lawn without having to worry about schedules or fines.
 
How long your grass survives depends a lot on the soil you have. My yard is shallow sandy loam on top of a very rocky soil and the St Augustine starts to wilt three days after watering in this weather. I keep adding good soil when I can and this helps.
 
In SA we've been on once a week all summer and my grass looks very nice. I water the **** out of it on the one day and that way the roots grow deeper than you guys who water for 15 minutes every other day and then leave town for 4 days. I water from 3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on a 7 zoned system, but I have turned off 3 of the zones since there is no "lawn" in those zones. I then hand water the ornamentals in those zones when they look like they are stressed. It's no big deal.
 
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We have watered our yard three times since the end of May...probably around three to four hours each time. Along with the small amounts of rain and the fact that most of my yard is shaded most of the day, it has survived nicely.












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Those that don't have tp water are lucky. I went out of town for two weeks and 1/3 is now toast. And the 1/3 is totally scattered. I am on rock and as usual the builder didn't do good prep son the hot rocks below the grass kills it. If Austin. People with good soil will have better results. If the City of Austin had any guts they would force an inspector to make sure the new house had 4-6 inches of top soil.
 
i mowed yesterday and i have to say, my yard looks damn good. there are some spots that are in full sun majority of the day that i'll have to hand water, but otherwise, our grass will be fine. this will be good for ppl to learn how to properly water their yard.

hand water the plants that need it.
 
Screw the city and their water restrictions. They want us to cut back so they will have plenty of water to sell to new subdivisions.
 
If you're growing St Aug, then it's your own fault. It's ridiculous to spend that much resources on non-native grass anyway. After this year, I bet a lot of people in San Antonio will have more drought-resistant varieties.

And yeah, I water once a week, and my St Aug is half dead. My next house will not have this problem.
 
If you're growing St Aug, then it's your own fault.

Really it's my fault??? FYI I tried everything to not get that grass. I offered to pay the difference for Zoysia and was told to pound sand by the builder. I guess I should have built my house from scratch instead of finding one half done.. Granted some people get it by design but some of us are stuck with it despite trying ot avoid it. I guess my only option was to walk away from the house.
 
For the record, the st. augustine was there when I moved in...

What pisses me off is the businesses that I see watering at 6PM with sprinklers that put a fine mist into the air that gets whisked away by a gentle breeze. Why don't they get stricter on these businesses watering their parking lots? I call 311 whenever I see a business that's watering when they shouldn't be, or is misting their parking lot.
 
As much as we all love our University, I can't imagine how many 1000s of gallons they use every hour in the morning. Walk around the quad and the main building -- the number of active sprinkler heads in that area alone is mind-boggling.
 
We live in a new home in Round Rock and had the company that installed the sprinkler system come out to do adjustments on a few heads. When they were out we were told that Williamson County had just put restrictions in place limiting all watering to Thursdays and Sundays. We weren't notified and I haven't seen anything about in the news - anyone else? The guy told us that it was a $500 fine, no warnings.
 
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