by Charlene Simpson
Last Fall I wrote about Island Lakes 2010 summer irrigation water use compared with years 2008-09 for the same period. The article, Our Water Footprint: It Isn’t Just a Drop in the Bucket, is posted on Island Lakes website and appeared in the May 2011 Newsletter. Diminished flow from our water source, growing demand and delivery rate increases make water conservation a vitally important issue for Island Lake homeowners.
The Landscape Committee is actively implementing water conservation measures to rein in lawn irrigation costs and to be a good neighbor and custodian of the environment.
In April irrigation system controllers were programmed for lawn watering regimens to match EWEB recommendations based on Oregon State University research. Recommendations were made following a EWEB water-use audit on our property.
The committee is working to reduce lawn areas by 15 to 25% over the next 5 years. Evaporative transpiration (ET) is greatest in lawn exposed to full sun. An example of a water-saving lawn to tree/shrub conversion is homeowner Beverly Nagle’s installation of decorative rock, Japanese maple and Hebe shrubs at Building 13.
Inspired by Don Sandburg’s vision of a Clubhouse front lawn make-over, the Landscape Committee has engaged Landscape Designer Susie Holmes to draft a proposal. Her renditions and species selections were presented to the Committee in May. The committee asked Ms. Holmes to incorporate:
- Plants acclimated to Pacific Northwest wet winters and dry summers
- Plants that require low maintenance
- Shrubs and perennials replacing a large portion of the existing lawn,
while:a. Retaining some lawn area to provide continuity with perceived homeowner expectations
b. Seeding the lawn area with a drought-tolerant grass seed mix which will be evaluated for water savings.
In May a Landscape sub-committee visited Tom’s Garden Center in Albany, Oregon to learn about drought tolerant grass seed mixes for possible use at Island Lakes. We learned about Eden® (aka Water Warden), a mix of three fine-textured fescues. Eden® is grown in Harrisburg, Oregon and is acclimated to local conditions.
Tom Krupicka, owner of Tom’s Garden Center, told us that we can expect a 50% reduction in water use with Eden®. When mature, it can go 14 to 20 days without watering. Tom recommends “flood irrigating” when watering to encourage long roots. He advises mowing to a height of 2 to 2-1/2″.
If evaluation of the demonstration area at the Club House is favorable, the Landscape Committee will propose to the Board of Directors overseeding areas elsewhere in the complex with the new mix. At maturity Eden® will overtake the existing grass. Tom recommends overseeding in Spring.
Following the visit to Tom’s Garden Center the subcommittee viewed Eden® growing in a landscape setting. All were favorably impressed.
