Landscape pros urge Utah homeowners to check sprinklers, adjust mower height and manage weeds to save water

During a public webinar hosted by the Utah Division of Water Resources, landscape professionals presented practical steps homeowners can take now to reduce landscape water use while keeping lawns and plantings healthy.

Casey, identified in the program as a landscape pro with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District in Orem, said the most common, high-impact item is verifying that sprinklers and drip zones work as intended. “We had a sprinkler that was malfunctioning — it was going way too fast and you could see the water pooling,” Casey said, adding that a stuck drip zone discovered after turn-on can flood an area if not found quickly. He urged attendees to inspect systems after seasonal start-up and to repair broken heads and leaks promptly.

Casey also advised homeowners to confirm local watering restrictions and to program smart controllers so they do not irrigate on prohibited days. He recommended raising mower height as temperatures rise — “maybe two and a half to three inches” — to keep turf cooler and reduce water stress, and to continue late-season weeding and mulch maintenance to limit evaporation and plant competition.

Ryan, who runs the Red Hills Desert Garden in St. George, described southern-Utah timing and plant-care practices. He said many homeowners overwater in extreme heat and that, if managed well, “you should never need to water more than every other day.” For trees and shrubs, Ryan recommended less-frequent but much longer irrigation runs to encourage deeper roots, and suggested postponing new plantings until fall when feasible.

Both presenters emphasized that routine, relatively low-cost maintenance — repairing leaks, checking spacing and coverage, matching plant choices to site microclimates — can yield substantial water savings and improve landscape resilience during drought.

The webinar was recorded; the Division said it will circulate the session video and resource links (including slowflow.org for Landscape Incentive Program details) with attendees and post the materials to YouTube.