After three months of Southern Maine weekends that included at least some rain (sometimes disappointingly affecting planned outdoor activities), discussions of droughts seem unnecessary.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reports this month that Maine is experiencing minimal drought conditions. This represents a significant improvement from previous years. Maine has experienced significant droughts as recently as 2020-2022, and Maine has also begun to experience snow drought in the winters. It might be too soon to be impatient with rainy weekend days, and to deny that we need to manage water in our own homes or yards.

Picture this: You’re just waking up on a summer day, your neighbor’s sprinkler system is on, sending water cascading not just across their freshly sodded lawn, but down the street in a miniature river that could fill a swimming pool. You’re witnessing one of the most wasteful rituals — the automatic irrigation of landscapes that often need far less water than they receive.

“Smart” irrigation systems like your neighbor’s promise an easy technological solution to water waste, but the reality is more complex. While these systems do save water when properly designed, installed, and maintained, they often encourage homeowners to maintain resource-intensive landscapes that would be better replaced with water-wise and planet-protecting alternatives.

When we water lawns excessively, we’re not just wasting water — we’re perpetuating a system that consumes resources and may produce pollution if pesticides are used to maintain a diminished ecosystem that harms biodiversity.

THE SMART IRRIGATION DILEMMA

Smart irrigation systems represent a technological solution to the problem of water waste.

Under ideal conditions, they deliver significant water savings. However, smart irrigation systems only work as well as they’re programmed, maintained, and monitored. In the real world, thousands of gallons can still be lost due to problematic leaks that are not detected when irrigation runs at night or at unattended sites. They also make it easier to maintain water-intensive landscapes rather than prompting homeowners to question whether they need irrigated lawns at all.

IMPROVING YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM

If you currently have an irrigation system, here are immediate actions you can take to reduce waste:

• Test your system regularly.
• Install a rain sensor.
• Adjust timing and frequency.
• Check for leaks monthly.

ADDITIONAL STEPS TO AVOID WASTING WATER

• Upgrade to drip irrigation for gardens and shrubs.
• Create irrigation zones based on plant needs.
• Time watering strategically.

The best time of day to water your lawn is early in the morning, between 4 and 7 a.m. This allows the water to penetrate the soil and reach the roots.

RETHINKING THE LAWN

The most sustainable approach to lawn irrigation is to eliminate or dramatically reduce the need for it entirely. This involves transitioning to landscapes that thrive on natural rainfall.

• Reduce lawn area by half.
• Plant native alternatives.
• Consider clover lawns.
• Implement xeriscaping principles. Xeriscaping (which means “dry-scaping” in Greek) is a system that requires little to no supplemental irrigation beyond annual rainfall.

CREATING WATER-WISE LANDSCAPES

Try eliminating irrigation entirely by:

• Placing the right plants in conditions where they’ll thrive without supplemental water.
• Use ground covers or any low-growing plant you can walk on. Popular varieties include sedum, creeping thyme, dichondra, Corsican mint and chamomile.
• Create diverse plant communities. Meadow lawns are composed of a variety of low-maintenance native plants.

A PATH FORWARD: FROM STREAMS TO SUSTAINABILITY

That stream of water flowing down your street from your neighbor’s yard represents more than just waste — it’s a symbol of a landscaping approach that’s increasingly at odds with our environmental reality. Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, and rainfall events are intensifying. Landscaping practices that have been effective for centuries may no longer be suitable.

“One of the greatest acts of conservation the average American homeowner can take is to remove as much of their lawn as possible,” says University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy, “and strategically replace it with native plant communities.”

This week, you can take one step toward more sustainable landscaping: audit your current irrigation system, research native plants for your area, or simply turn off the sprinklers for a few days to see how your yard responds to natural rainfall. Your water bill — and your local watershed — will thank you.

Peggy Siegle and Fred Horch are principals of Sustainable Practice. To receive expert action guides to help your household and organizations become superbly sustainable, visit SustainablePractice.Life and subscribe for free to One Step This Week, or go visit suspra.com to purchase our book, “Sustainable Practices: Your Handbook for Effective Action.”