With Falls Lake now 2 inches below “Normal Operating Level” (but 14 feet, 10 inches above the bottom of the conservation pool), the Raleigh Water Nazis want to remind all of us of the current restrictive water use policies that are in place.

Customers using automatic or non-automatic irrigation systems may water their lawn from 12:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on their allotted days only. Hose end sprinklers may be operated from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on the same odd and even address schedule as sprinklers systems.

• Odd numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
• Even-numbered addresses may water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
• No irrigating is allowed on Monday.

* * *

It is important to remember that overzealous watering of drought-weak lawns by people with sprinkler systems (mainly in North Raleigh) got us into the problems of 2007. At this point in the summer that year, Falls Lake was working with a “full pool”.

Lawns in Raleigh need 1” of water a week delivered in 2 or 3 applications. It is prudent to use both a rain gauge and a shallow sprinkler gauge (like a cut-off paper cup) in order to make necessary adjustments and avoid overwatering.

What is more important to remember than the restriction times, however, is that watering in the afternoon is extremely inefficient and wasteful. Much of the water distributed will evaporate before is sinks down to the grass’ root levels. Watering at night is not advised either because it promotes molds, fungi, and parasitic problems for the lawns.

Another thing to remember is that is not good to fertilize lawns after late February. Fertilization in heat promotes upward growth of the grass which makes the lawn less drought-resistant. Wait until early September when the fertilizer will help to promote downward root growth.

Also, remember to mow as often as it takes to not clip more than one third of the grass’ blade length. Such a large whack to the blade usually causes to grass to be intolerant of drought and likely die, an inviting situation for opportunistic weeds.

Now, was that so hard? Why can’t the City of Raleigh mount even a feeble attempt at disseminating even the easiest of turf management points? Instead they have chosen the lazy approach, a restrictive route with rules that have little to do with actual conservation and drought resistance.

For more fantastic information on lawns, consult NCSU’s TurfFiles page.