Are we watering twice a week? (Jacksonville: house, buy, new construction)

[riveree]

Originally Posted by cricketfan

Thanks, Riv. I feel vindicated. I do water 2x a week. But I gotta tell ya, the law is not enforceable. I guess it's left to one's environmental awareness, or whatever you wanna call it.

My neighbor waters his lawn just about every day and I'm not about to rat on him. Plus, he happens to be a cop.

From what I've heard, some years back the city did do some enforcing and ticketing when we had bad drought. Where we stand today is, like you said, you'd have to turn in your neighbor for him to scrutinized for his watering schedule.

But....

It looks like that is all about to change. The enforcing - which is at the city level - is going to start happening again. I believe HIF had some info for us a while back on this (I could not find the thread ). Anyway, here's a recent article explaining the upcoming changes:

Jacksonville.com


Water conservation info & tips:

St. Johns Riverkeeper

Creating a river-friendly yard:

St. Johns Riverkeeper

[agreatlife]

Riveree, My reading on this is that it is not a law (at least yet) in Duval. It's only a "rule," I clicked on one of the links at the site to find which areas have imposed ordinances, and Duval is not one of them.

Here's the link: sjrwmd.com: Irrigation Rule: Local Government Ordinances Designating Irrigation Days (http://www.sjrwmd.com/irrigationrule/irrigationdays.html - broken link)

It's a "rule" for other areas. I take that to mean, there's no penalties or fines that are given out. Maybe I am wrong about this?

I'm not saying I'm against the "rule", but until Duval passes an ordinance, I didn't think the SJRWMD could hand out fines. Someone correct me if I am wrong. I find the whole thing to be confusing.

[tamcim72]

I am watering 3x a week currently, and a lot of my areas are still struggling. We water off the community lakes w/ in the association and we are only allowed 2 hours 3 days a week. I have 6 zone b/c I have 1/3 arce lot where most have only 4. That is giving me only 20 minutes per zone or 1 hour per week per zone max. I usually leave the system off unless I see visable need, but lately have had it on and even been watering by hand some dry spots and newly planted trees. I'm trying to ween myself down to 2 days per week as the community is making the transition manditory soon. I plan to water 3 zones one day and the other 3 the other so I can water longer periods. We are gradually making drought resistant beds bigger and removing grass areas as much as possible to limit watering and fertilization requirments.

I hope st johns enacts watering rules/laws for future b/c I see a lot of waste. Unfortunately fines are hardly imposed and it is more of an honor system.

[FLPL75]

the trick is to water smarter
The most important thing to check is a simple check on your irrigation system
here is a great link that tells you how.
Irrigation System Maintenance - Conserving Water Solutions for Your Landscape UF/IFAS

keep in mind that it is better to water less frequently and deeper to develop a better root system.
frequent short (5 or 10 min) watering keeps the roots shallow

Also now is the time to let your grass be a little higher, this not only will help to keep the roots cooler but will also encourage deeper roots, so leave your mower on the highest setting.

What most people don't know is your "woody ornamentals" once established only require watering if it has been 3 or 4 weeks without rain, so you can turn off the heads that only water the bushes.

Also remember that a nice thick mulch layer will help to retain the moisture in the gardens. Just make sure to keep the mulch a couple inches from the base of trees and woody ornamentals

[riveree]

Originally Posted by agreatlife

Riveree, My reading on this is that it is not a law (at least yet) in Duval. It's only a "rule," I clicked on one of the links at the site to find which areas have imposed ordinances, and Duval is not one of them.

Here's the link: sjrwmd.com: Irrigation Rule: Local Government Ordinances Designating Irrigation Days (http://www.sjrwmd.com/irrigationrule/irrigationdays.html - broken link)

It's a "rule" for other areas. I take that to mean, there's no penalties or fines that are given out. Maybe I am wrong about this?

I'm not saying I'm against the "rule", but until Duval passes an ordinance, I didn't think the SJRWMD could hand out fines. Someone correct me if I am wrong. I find the whole thing to be confusing.

It is confusing . I've seen it referred to as both "rule" and "law", though at this point and time, "rule" probably is the correct term.

If you read the article I linked though, it is changing as we speak.

It's correct that the Saint Johns River Water Management District does not have the authority to enforce/fine/ticket, but the city DOES and HAS, though not lately.

So the new "restrictions" (as the article refers to them as) will be watering only 2x per week and your days will be assigned according to your address (odd or even). There will also be fertilizer restrictions.

Here's the link to the article again:

Jacksonville.com

How the city will enforce, I don't know. Will there be patrols? Will they watch our water consumption (for those who have irrigation systems without sewer fees)?

[riveree]

Originally Posted by tamcim72

I am watering 3x a week currently, and a lot of my areas are still struggling.

Karla gave some great ideas, here are some others that have worked for me:

1) Be sure there isn't a pest problem. Grubs may have been feeding on your roots during the late winter and can weaken areas of lawn...look into "grubs" - they are often the culprits .

2) Do a top-dressing. I use plain topsoil, and sometimes play sand (not levelling sand ). Just buy a few bags of regular topsoil and spread it across the weak areas of your lawn...not too thick, the blades of grass need to peek out. You will be amazed at how much more moisture that spot will now hold.

3) Be sure you have fertilized well. If the lawn is healthy, it won't need as much water. My personal favorite fertilizer is "Milorganite" - that's all I use. It's about $9 a bag at Lowe's and it works amazingly well (it's also one of the more organic choices you can make at the big box stores).

4) Create a microclimate. Install a fence, plant some trees and shrubs. Minimize wide, open grass in contact with concrete and asphalt. Build a nice "border" around your grass and a bit of shade and the grass will conserve moisture much better. It's amazing what fencing your backyard will do for your grass .

[agreatlife]

Thanks riveree for the clarification. I did not know that the council had finally passed an ordinance on watering. Bout time.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by agreatlife

Thanks riveree for the clarification. I did not know that the council had finally passed an ordinance on watering. Bout time.

I agree, it's a good thing. It's probably better that people start to gradually make the shift so they're not suprised later by a total ban on outdoor watering...plenty of time to incorporate native plants, xeriscaping, rain-barrels, etc.

Here's a good time to tell you all about a great book ...

The Green Gardener's Guide
by Joe Lamp'l

It's a brand new book, and you can usually find it on display at B&N (I got my copy on discount from Overstock.com). It's a book full of tips on 'simple, significant actions to protect & preserve our planet'. The chapters break down into:

Gardening to make a difference
Conserving water in the garden
Reducing garden chemicals to protect our water
Landscaping to control runoff
Turning waste into gardening gold (composting)
Consuming less energy in the landscape
Gardening to protect the ecosystem
Taking it over the fence

A big chunk of the book gives in-depth tips that are applicable to the very issue we're discussing here. Even if you have zero interest in environmentalism, the tips are money savers and time savers...check it out .

[agreatlife]

Riv - do you know what the watering schedule is? What days for odd number/even number?

[travelingfood]

What about fertilizing near retention ponds? Really wish the HOA and CDD communities would lessen the restriction on what we can do with our lot. To create a more water conserving, landscaping guidelines.