Most people water their landscapes based on guesswork. A little here, a little there, adjust the timer when things look dry, and hope for the best. But there’s a number—a simple coefficient—that tells you exactly how much water each plant needs. It’s called the plant species factor, and understanding it can cut your water use […]
Spring is coming, and so is irrigation season. But before you flip that controller back on and let the water flow, there’s work to do. An irrigation system that sat dormant all winter doesn’t just wake up ready to perform. Freezing temperatures, shifting soil, and months of inactivity take their toll. Skipping the pre-season checklist […]
The Colorado River water management crisis has reached another critical moment. There is a deadline on the wall, and the West just missed it. February 14th came and went without agreement among the seven Colorado River Basin states on how to manage one of the most critical water systems in North America. It wasn’t the first missed […]
If you watched the Super Bowl this past Sunday, you probably noticed the passes, the tackles, and maybe even the halftime show. But did you notice the lawn? Of course you didn’t. And that’s exactly the point. The turf at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara looked flawless. Not a brown spot, not a puddle, not […]
Imagine getting in your car for a cross-country road trip, but there’s one problem. Your dashboard doesn’t have a fuel gauge. You have no idea how much gas is in the tank. What would you do? Most of us would probably stop for gas far more often than we need to. We’d top off the tank constantly, just to be safe. Running out […]
If it feels like your water bill is creeping up month after month, you’re not imagining things. Homeowners across the country are opening their statements, doing a double take, and asking the same question: “How am I using this much water?” The truth is you might not be. In many cases, rising bills have less […]
Every November, as we gather around the table and give thanks for food, family, and friendship, it’s worth pausing to consider what quietly connects every part of that scene: water. From the fields that grew our food to the rivers that shaped our communities, water touches everything we celebrate at Thanksgiving. It’s in the soil […]
If you follow water in the American West, you’ve probably heard renewed buzz about cloud seeding, the idea that, under the right conditions, we can coax a little more snow or rain from passing storms. With reservoirs drawn down and snowpacks swinging wildly year to year, it’s fair to ask: Does cloud seeding work, and […]
There’s a quiet line item eating into NOI, and contractor margins every single day: inaction. In water management, “doing nothing” may seem harmless, keeping last year’s schedule, skipping the audit, ignoring the small leak, or postponing the retrofit. But the costs compound in ways that budgets rarely capture: water you didn’t need to buy, plants […]
In today’s world, water is no longer a limitless resource we can take for granted. From the prolonged droughts in the western United States to unpredictable rainfall patterns across the globe, gardeners and homeowners are increasingly called to rethink how they use water outdoors. Irrigation systems like drip lines and smart controllers have already transformed […]