Residents asked to limit lawn watering to twice a week
By Jason Jacks
In light of last year's damaging drought, Loudoun Water has a simple message for its 55,000 costumers: Water less and not while it's raining.Though the county lifted mandatory water restrictions earlier this year, Loudoun Water is still asking its customers, most of whom reside east of U.S. 15, to water only twice a week and on designated days: Wednesday and Saturday for residents with odd addresses, Thursday and Sunday for even addresses, and Tuesday and Friday for apartment complexes and nonresidential buildings.
The largest drain on the county's water supply, according to Loudoun's largest water supplier, are residential lawn watering systems, many of which are set to activate on the same days and at the same time.
“What kills us is the simultaneous running,” said Loudoun Water spokeswoman Samantha Villegas, adding that about 70 percent of the county's water supply is eaten up by irrigation systems.
During the peak watering months of spring and summer, Loudoun Water estimates 90 percent of these so-called “set it and forget it” systems turn on at 4 a.m. every third day no matter the weather.
Through an outreach program it will soon launch, Loudoun Water will encourage customers to switch to more sophisticated “smart” watering systems, which take into account weather conditions and soil moisture, and shut off when not needed.
Villegas said while these systems are more expensive to buy, they can reduce water bills by up to 30 percent.
“Yes, they are more pricey,” she said. “But our customers are either going to pay me or pay [the manufacturers].”
See www.loudounwater.org to learn more.