Water suppliers in the North Metro area depend on mountain snowpack for a majority of their water. However, below average snowfall this past winter means less water for 2012 and possibly 2013. Plus, a warmer spring has jump-started the lawn-watering season, prompting higher water use. This year, it's especially important to save.

In response, the city is encouraging residents to reduce their water use by 10 percent.

Managing Your Manual And Automatic Sprinkler System

Summer Sprinkler Watering Guide
Use this guide to determine how many minutes per week each zone* in your lawn should be watered (based on watering two times a week.)

* - Some landscapes might need more or less watering.

Conservation Methods That are Free

• Regularly check pipes, hoses, valves and faucets for leaks.
• Use a pool cover to keep debris out of your pool and to reduce evaporation. Recycle water for use on your lawn or garden.
• Use a bucket to wash your car. Use a shut-off nozzle on the hose to save water.
• Use a commercial car wash that recycles water.
• Set your lawn mower to mow one notch higher. Longer grass means less evaporation.
• Use a broom instead of your hose to clean patios, driveways and sidewalks.
• Use drought-tolerant plants in your landscaping. Mulch your garden to reduce evaporation.
• Water only when the wind is calm
• Count nature's contribution. If it rains, those inches should be deducted from your lawn's water needs for the week.
• Water only growing things. To date, no benefits have been shown from trying to get concrete to grow!

Conservation Methods That are Less Than $50

• Aerate your lawn in the spring and fall.
• Install a rain sensor that will shut off your automatic sprinkler during or after rainfall.

Waste of Water Ordinance

Residents are reminded that the city has an ordinance prohibiting the waste of water. Click here to read the entire City of Northglenn Waste of Water Ordinance.

The following information is used by permission of Denver Water:

Watering by Grass Type

This is a very rough guide for a watering schedule. Individual site conditions, such as soil type and aspect (such as weather, seed quality, etc.) need to be considered. Proper mowing heights should follow the 1/3 rule, which means never removing more than 1/3 of the blade of grass. Normal home lawns should be kept at 2 to 3.5 inches to encourage deep roots, which in turn require less water.

To save water and money, apply only the amount of water your landscape needs:
• Set four identical cans at various distances from the sprinkler within its spray pattern. Turn the sprinkler on for 15 minutes. Short sided cans (like tuna or catfood) work best.
• Turn off the sprinkler and pour the water collected from the four cans into just one can.
• With a ruler, measure the depth of water in the can. This is the amount of water your sprinkler delivers in one hour.
• Based on this number (inches per hour), you can determine how long the sprinkler must run to provide your lawn with the amount of water it needs.

Once you know how much water your sprinklers put out, set them to water for the number of minutes necessary to apply the amount of water shown in the chart below. Remember to account for any rain that nature has provided.
When using the chart, keep in mind that the number given is the total water for the week, NOT the amount to water on each watering day.

For example, in June a typical Bluegrass lawn needs about 1½ inches of water per week. To provide this, you might spread the water evenly over three days by applying ½ inch on each watering day. In general, it is not a good idea to give the lawn its entire 1½ inches for the week on a single day. The numbers below can be reduced if your lawn is shaded by trees or has a northern exposure.