Crazy water bill !!!

[parkk]

Originally Posted by SurferDude

We built a house on .75 acre, no pool, and before we moved in the builder watered the lawn and plants 7 days a week, which used over 200,000 gallons of water. They got a $3k water bill for that one month! Once we moved in, we scaled down to 6 days a week, but that used 90,000 gallons at the cost of $700. Now that winter is here, we are down to 2 days a week of watering....I am scared to open up my next water bill. In California, I was used to $50 bills.

What a waste of water! I have never watered my grass, and yes it looks bad this year, who cares. We do water trees and plants but if I was running things it would be against the law to water grass.

[SurferDude]

Unfortunately, things need water to live. Would you also make it against the law for people and animals to have water too? You tell me what you would rather have during the peak of summer fire season: A. Dead grass catching a spark and burning down your neighborhood and your priceless belongings or B. Beautiful green grass that would be more resistant to fire.

You choose.

Originally Posted by parkk

What a waste of water! I have never watered my grass, and yes it looks bad this year, who cares. We do water trees and plants but if I was running things it would be against the law to water grass.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by SurferDude

We built a house on .75 acre, no pool, and before we moved in the builder watered the lawn and plants 7 days a week, which used over 200,000 gallons of water. They got a $3k water bill for that one month! Once we moved in, we scaled down to 6 days a week, but that used 90,000 gallons at the cost of $700. Now that winter is here, we are down to 2 days a week of watering....I am scared to open up my next water bill. In California, I was used to $50 bills.

That is a good way to eventually annhilate your St. Augustine lawn. You should probably have your yard zoned so you only water the grass 1, maybe 2 X/week. Flower gardens might need a bit more. If you overwater St Augustine, eventually the roots will get a form of fungus or mold and die out.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Poltracker

That is a good way to eventually annhilate your St. Augustine lawn. You should probably have your yard zoned so you only water the grass 1, maybe 2 X/week. Flower gardens might need a bit more. If you overwater St Augustine, eventually the roots will get a form of fungus or mold and die out.

Also, if you water that frequently the roots of the St.Augustine will never get really deep into the ground -- thus it won't be as drought-tolerant as it should be. So it's a vicious cycle. If you do water frequently, you've probably conditioned your grass so that it actually may die if you stop. The proper way is to water St. Augustine deep, but only a few times a week (max).

[parkk]

Originally Posted by SurferDude

Unfortunately, things need water to live. Would you also make it against the law for people and animals to have water too? You tell me what you would rather have during the peak of summer fire season: A. Dead grass catching a spark and burning down your neighborhood and your priceless belongings or B. Beautiful green grass that would be more resistant to fire.

You choose.

Of course people and animals need water don't be silly.

I live on 2.5 acres, I keep it cut to reduce the fire risk. I think it's a waste of water to water most lawns, after all people and animals need it.

That's my choice (i don't use the smiles I'm all grown up)

[HappyTexan]

Plant a drought tolerant grass (native bermuda comes to mind) and get it going good and then stop.
It will go dormant but won't die and will come back with the rains.

Either that or get astro-turf on your lawn and have it green 24/7/365.

In Texas we need to conserve water as we get bad droughts.

[texastrigirl]

I haven't been gone from Austin that long! I know they have watering restrictions in place!! How are you getting away with watering more than every 5 days? And, everyone that mentioned it is correct. Watering St. Augustine that much is going to kill it eventually. It's very susceptible to fungus.

[SurferDude]

Yeah, I think the builder overdid it with their excess watering. We have been at two days a week for the past two months, and we want to stop watering the grass during the winter. Thanks for the suggestions!

[atlanta hope]

My bill says 41,300 gallons. I do have a big drip irrigation system so that could be the offender. Not to mention that I had the popcorn ceilings removed by the asbestos abatement people and they used water -- not sure how much though. I do have the water company coming out to recheck the meter read. I'm getting ready to check the meter myself to see if it's moving without water being turned on -- that was a good idea, thanks!