Millbrae Water Conservation Tips For Summer

Press release from the City of Millbrae:

July 7, 2020

Over one half of a household’s water used on landscaping. The largest use of outdoor water are lawns, which means they offer the greatest potential for water savings.

Reduce your landscaping water usage by following the tips below:

1. Consider removing your lawn and planting native and drought tolerant plants and trees to save 30–60 gallons per 1000 sq. ft. each time you water. Visit Millbrae City Hall to see the native plant landscaping.

2. Add a three-inch layer of compost to keep moisture in the soil. This increases the water holding capacity to 2.5 times more than it would normally hold and saves 20–30 gallons per 1000 sq. ft. each time you water.

3. Water two days per week and reduce the minutes of watering per day.

4. Water between 8:00 pm and 10:00 am to prevent evaporation.

5. Adjust the sprinkler heads and fix leaks to save 12–15 gallons each time you water. A leak about the size of a pen tip can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month!

6. Hand-water small dry spots rather than watering your whole lawn. Lawn areas in the shade (north/east side) will generally require 50% less water than lawns on the sunny side of the house.

7. Use a broom to clean outdoor areas to save 8–18 gallons a minute.

Learn more at: www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/waterconservation.

This press release was produced by the City of Millbrae. The views expressed here are the author’s own.