Conservation | trinityglenrose

Check Your Sprinkler Controller to Save Lots of Water

Need to Control Your Irrigation Controller

Watering during the rain obviously wastes lots of water. So, you need to make sure your water sprinkler controller is set to manual to make sure you don't water while its raining.

Your controller may manage the sprinkler system, but you need to take control of the controller!

Your irrigation controller may regulate the sprinkler system, but if it's programmed incorrectly, it can use about 1,500-2,500 gallons every time it runs. Not to mention drown your plants, promote disease and drain your wallet.

Most controllers use the same basic tools: programs, days, run times and start times. (Refer to the online manuals of some common brand-name systems for additional information.)

A quick irrigation audit will often reveal common problems that are easily solved:

Too many days. During drought restrictions, the last number of your street address determines your watering day. Outside of drought, there is no need to water more than twice a week.
Long run times. For pop-up sprayers in our clay soils, the recommended setting for proper coverage is eight to 15 minutes, depending on whether the zone is in sun or shade. For rotor heads, 25-30 minutes is recommended.
Too many start times. One start time initiates the entire cycle (running every zone with a run time). Occasionally, splitting the total run time per zone into two start times may be beneficial for steep slopes.
Multiple programs. For most residential landscapes, a single program (A, B or C) is sufficient. The rest should be off with days and times zeroed out. Note: Check all programs to make sure no extras are lurking.

Trinity Glen Rose Conservation Programs and Information

Conservation Consultation Program

Trinity Glen Rose Groundwater Conservation District would like to ask for your help in reducing demand on groundwater resources. We offer a free on-site consultation to identify problems areas that could be resulting in higher water usage to home or business owners residing within our District. Following the visit, we offer recommendations to help reduce water usage both inside and outside the home and a “goody” bag full of conservation-related items, including a hose timer, moisture meter, and low-flow showerhead.

Conservation Publications

Here are some great water conservation publications from the Texas Water Development Board. Just click on the photos below and you can download a PDF of the brochures.

Water Quality

Well Protection Program

George Wissmann, TGRGCD General Manager

For most of us residing in the San Antonio/Bexar County area, we rely on municipal utilities to provide water and wastewater services. However, our District, spanning a wide swath across northern Bexar County, is comprised of not only urban and suburban, but also a sizable rural population. For many living in these outlying areas, the infrastructure required to obtain these services is not in place. Numerous long-established subdivisions and homesteads across northern Bexar County rely on individual wells and septic systems as their sole source of water and wastewater treatment.

Recently, some homeowners have experienced, firsthand, the impacts of continued drought conditions on their wells. First, it is important to understand, that while northern Bexar County wholly overlies the Trinity Aquifer, some areas within that aquifer are more reliably productive than others. Wells drilled several years, or even decades, ago may only have been completed into the first water source encountered at that time, or completed in the upper or middle sections, or strata, of the Trinity Aquifer. These sections have undergone water level declines during drought conditions. New wells are now being completed into the Cow Creek formation of the Trinity Aquifer which consistently yields more water than the strata above.

As a well owner, there is basic, but critical, information you need to know about your well. This includes the well depth, the depth at which the pump is sitting, the current water level, and any storage capacity information, if present. This information can often be obtained through your well driller or well service provider, and can save a well owner from water level problems resulting in reduced production, or from incurring costly equipment repairs, e.g. pump failure, pump column damage, or electrical issues. Taking it a step further, correlating this information with your local groundwater conservation district's monitor well network as well as neighboring well information, when available, can act as a proactive measure safeguarding your investment.

The Trinity Glen Rose Groundwater Conservation District has numerous water level monitor wells located across northern Bexar County. This information can be viewed on our website or obtained by contacting the District office.

For more information visit the TGRGCD website at www.trinityglenrose.com or contact the District office at 210-698-1155.

There are many ways you can save water at home. From fixing faucet leaks to reducing how much you water your yard, everything you do helps protect and preserve the Trinity Glen Rose Aquifer.