SAN ANTONIO – A new report by the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club says Texans are likely overwatering their lawns.
"We think that watering outside no more than twice a week is plenty to maintain lawns and to keep trees alive," said Jennifer Walker, water resources coordinator for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Curbing outside watering is the simplest way to save water, according to the report, to ease water issues statewide.
San Antonians are no stranger to water restrictions after years of facing once-a-week watering rules, courtesy of drought.
The study focuses on Dallas/Fort Worth and the Houston areas, which are the biggest water consumers in the state. It recommends that all Texas cities implement twice-a-week watering, even when drought is not present.
"Outdoor water use is at least a third of the water used in these areas," said Walker. "So we decided to do this study to really look at what the savings potential was."
Around 52 billion gallons of water per year could be saved for the Dallas and Houston areas combined, according to the report.
"This is an idea whose time has come, and communities are starting to adopt these types of strategies," said Walker.
Dallas and Fort Worth have already implemented twice-a-week watering, regardless of drought, but some of the area's fastest growing suburbs have not. Most of the Houston area, too, does not have mandatory twice-a-week watering outside of drought conditions.
"While it rains a lot in the Gulf Coast region, they do not have an unlimited supply of water," added Walker.