CalAqua

Home > CalAqua > Waterwise Garden

Why be a WaterWise gardener?

Water is a precious resource. Unfortunately some people who are connected to the town water supply are unaware of where their water comes from or how much they use. Queensland gardeners use approximately 465 000 000 litres of water per day! That’s an average of 205 Litres per person per day. Around 50% of treated drinking water provided to homes is used outside the house with sprinklers using up to 1000 Litres of water per hour. Even hosing the driveway uses 50 to 100 Litres of water.

WaterWise gardening helps conserve water, which means that we will have a reduced detrimental impact on our environment and you will also save money on your water bill! As a bonus, WaterWise gardens are generally low maintenance and this means less work and more time for you to relax. We all need to rethink how we use water, and it’s important to remember that we are all responsible for using this incredibly high value resource wisely.

It is important to plan your garden well. Here are a few tips for planning your WaterWise garden:

Group plants with similar water needs together
Use windbreaks (e.g. hedges or screens) to protect delicate plants
Decrease the size of your lawn, as lawns generally use more water than gardens

The right soil is one of the keys to healthy plants. Sandy soils are low in organic matter and nutrients, so you may need to add manure, compost, or peat in order to retain moisture and nutrients in the soil.

Clay soils are very compact and you may need to add gypsum and organic matter to help plants grow and give water a better chance to penetrate to the plant roots.

Before you choose your plants for your WaterWise garden here are a few pointers to think about:

Look at the size, shape, function and water requirements of each plant and make sure that it is the right plant for your needs
Look for plants with leaves that use less water i.e. fine needle-like leaves, or waxy, or hairy leaves tend to be effective water users
Native plants generally need less water and fewer nutrients, and these beautiful plants are suited to local conditions
Look at what grows naturally in your area
Ask your local Landcare nursery for help

Generally lawns need more water than other areas of your yard. Explore other options to lawn such as extending gardens, paving and adding ground cover. If you are laying turf, check-out the lawn type you plan to use, as some species need less water than others. Also, when mowing your lawn, don’t mow it too short – a slightly longer lawn means that less water will evaporate.

The most effective watering systems deliver water to the plant roots. Dripper systems, tap timers, trigger hoses, micro-irrigation systems, and weepers all assist in providing a WaterWise watering system. It is also more efficient to water either early in the morning or late in the evening as this reduces the amount of water lost by evaporation.

It is also important to note that giving plants a good soaking of water once or twice a week encourages the plant roots to grow deep and enable the plant to become more drought tolerant.

More detailed information on watering plants can be found below.

Watering by Hand

Using a watering can helps water go straight to the roots of a plant - where the moisture is needed. Watering cans are particularly useful for isolated "heavy drinker" plants such as tomatoes etc.

Watering with a hand-held hose can help a gardener to relax, but there is a tendency to water too frequently and too lightly. Fewer and heavier applications of water may be more beneficial to some plants.

Because tree roots extend outward from the trunk to get their nutrients, it may be better to water around the outside of the tree – at the edge of the leaf canopy – rather than at the base.

Hose-end Sprinklers

Ordinary Sprinklers

Ordinary sprinklers are fast and cheap, but have to be moved around and turned on and off. To reach garden corners they may waste water on fences or pathways.

Travelling Sprinklers

These are sprinklers on wheels. They move on a preset route, powered by the pressure of the water they discharge. Travelling sprinklers are best suited to large, flat, newly cut areas of lawn such as golf courses and parks. An inexpensive mini-model is also available and is fitted with a tracking wheel to follow the course of its hose laid out in front. It is suitable for irregularly shaped gardens.

Fixed Watering Systems

Micro-sprays

Micro-sprays are available for different patterns and angles of light spray.

Pop-up Sprinklers

These are generally used for large lawns. They are set flush with the lawn and will pop up under pressure to start watering. They can be controlled by hand – (turning on a tap) - or preferably by a timer or a computerised lawn watering system. Most brands of sprinklers have a range of jets with different spray patterns and angles of spray to suit different sections of a garden.

Drip systems

Drip or trickle systems are probably the most efficient watering devices, particularly for larger vegetables, fruit trees, bushes, shrubs, hanging baskets and sloping areas. They also reduce water loss from run-off. However, they are not suitable for lawns. Typical drippers will deliver water at rates of 2, 4 or 8 Litres per hour. Thirty drippers at 4 Litres per hour will provide120 Litres of water an hour, exactly where you want it. By comparison, a sprinkler would spray 1,000 Litres in the same time and still not necessarily reach remote or sheltered areas.

Automatic Watering Systems

Automatic systems may be convenient, but are not necessarily efficient or effective if they turn on, whether it is raining or not.
To avoid watering in the rain, invest in an override device. This is basically a rain gatherer that is set to operate after a specified amount of rain has fallen. The device trips the power supply and temporarily prevents the watering system from working. Malfunctions can occur in some models when affected by leaves, dust or birds. A tensiometer, a kind of moisture sensor in the ground, is probably more reliable although it won’t register in very dry soil.
Fixed sprinkler systems may be convenient but they are not necessarily water savers. They can be heavy water-users depending on how they are used.
The Australian Water Resources Council state that automatic sprinkler systems "contribute to ineffectual use and misuse of water for garden requirements". Even drip systems can waste water if not properly used.

Combinations

You can design a watering system that employs a combination of drippers, micro-sprays and fixed sprinklers where they are best suited.

Timers

Use a timer at the tap to turn off any sprinkler, drip or micro-spray system even if you don’t install a full watering system. For an average yard, a system of garden sprinklers can deliver water at rates up to 3000 Litres per hour. A forgotten sprinkler could easily waste thousands of litres of water.

General

Don’t buy more sprinkler power than you can use. Some sprinklers are designed for low to medium water pressure areas.
High water pressure and small sprinkler jet holes both tend to produce mist. On a windy day, you could lose most of this misty spray.
Set up sprinklers or micro sprays to water plants, not paths and fences.
Use a broom to clean concrete or paved areas.
If you are watering in hot weather, your neighbours are likely to be doing the same. Together, you can reduce water pressure appreciably affecting sprinkler range.

Rainfall of 5 to 10 millimetres will penetrate the root zones of most plants. More may be needed to promote deeper, drought- resistant root growth. Allow for mulches holding water, and for run-off from compacted soil.

How to check the Amount of Water Used

Place a few ice cream containers near the sprinkler or spray-jet. Measure the water depth after 10 or 20 minutes. Calculate the average depth and adjust watering times accordingly.

Losing Water By Evaporation

On extremely hot, dry and windy days evaporation can take up to half of the sprinkler water applied to a lawn. You will lose less water from evaporation as wind and temperatures fall and humidity rises.

High, swirling sprinkler jets will lose more water from evaporation than those with lower trajectories. Water in small droplets is more prone to evaporation than the same volume of water in fewer and larger droplets.
Watering the leaves of trees and shrubs may clean the leaf surface but you lose water through evaporation and, on hot sunny days could damage the plant.
If in doubt about the kind of watering system you need, consult your local garden nursery.

Installing Your Watering System

Don’t take risks. Pesticides and herbicides can get into low-level or underground systems and be drawn back into your drinking water. Under certain conditions this can contaminate your water supply.
Proper installation is the only answer. A licensed plumber or irrigator MUST install sprinkler or spray systems with pipework fixed at or below ground level.
You may legally install a system yourself IF the pipework is above ground level and is not subject to ground surface flooding and PROVIDED you connect it only to a garden tap and fit an approved backflow prevention device at the tap.

Mulch is really important; it can reduce evaporation by as much as 70%. To be effective you need to apply mulch at least 75mm thick - but ensure that it is clear of the trunk or stem of the plant. Mulch also decreases weeds, and provides a constant soil temperature for your plants. There is a wide variety of different mulches available e.g. peat, woodchips, compost, gravel, crushed brick, blue metal etc.

It is important to maintain your garden – prevention is better than cure! Here are some tips for maintaining your WaterWise garden:

Check your irrigation system regularly for leaks
Keep up the mulch
Remove weeds – they use water too!
Fix dripping taps (taps can waste up to 200 Litres per day)
Use a broom, rake or blower vac rather than a hose – they don’t use any water.

Caloundra City Council

Welcome to the Caloundra City Council website.