Water is a precious resource, and will soon be billed as such. Take steps to reduce the demand for potable water in your landscape.

Increasing water penetration into the soil and reducing runoff keeps our streams cleaner and can reduce flooding immediately after storms, since runoff does not immediately arrive in the storm drain system.

Things you can do to help:

• If you're putting in a pool, consider an automatic cover. This will limit evaporation, and help keep the pool warmer. Solar heating is another useful option, and installing photovoltaic panels will help offset the energy cost of the pumps.
• Program your irrigation controller every month to account for seasonal variation in water needs. Turn your irrigation system off when it rains, and leave it off until the soil dries out.
• Remove ornamental lawn and replace it with locally adapted plants. Ornamental lawn is patches of turf where nobody plays, often on sloping areas where it's difficult to mow.
• Break up large concrete slabs to allow water to infiltrate the soil. Alternatively, capture runoff from impervious surfaces and direct it to a rain garden or dry sump, where it can sink into the soil. These techniques filter runoff for cleaner streams.