Give yourself the gift of lower water bills with the holiday watering method.
As mild temperatures dwindle, so do the water needs of your plants as they prepare for their own winter holidays. Cooler soil temperatures mean more water retained in the soil and less demand for water by plants — that’s also your cue to wind down your watering for a while.
One of our favorite ways to save water in winter is to use the holiday watering method: the week of the holiday, check the weather. If it hasn’t rained at all that month, run it manually on your normal watering day — and turn it off again afterwards. Use any of the holidays between Thanksgiving and Spring Break to guide your monthly watering.
By doing this, you ensure your plants have the monthly water they need to carry out their biological processes, while keeping your water bill low.
Another reason to wind down watering: Excess water in winter increases the risk of fungal diseases in your grass — and it feeds the weeds that will drive you crazy come springtime.
Want to know what else will drive you crazy in spring? A high sewer bill. You can lower your sewer bill and lock in savings for 2026 by reducing water use and fixing any continuous leaks now, when SAWS is conducting winter averaging.
Turning off weekly irrigation now can save 2,000 gallons or more per week. That’s more than the average amount of water one person uses in a whole month. Put differently, running a single irrigation cycle is like adding another person to your home for a month (talk about unwanted guests)!
So, this holiday season, focus on the guests that matter. Don’t let your irrigation system have an expensive seat at the table. Give yourself and your irrigation system a break.
