Building Green Homes
LANDSCAPING
Outdoor water use is a major source of water consumption in the U.S. Of the 320 gallons of water used each day by a U.S. household, 30% of that is used for outdoor water use! Of that 30%, half is used to water gardens and lawns. One third of all residential water use in the U.S. is used for landscape irrigation, almost 9 billion gallons of water each day.
The amount of water used outdoors varies greatly on climate and region of the U.S. The hotter, drier climates in the U.S. use up to 60% of their household water use on irrigation! Some researchers even suggest that nearly half of the water used for irrigation is wasted due to wind, evaporation, and runoff from inefficient watering methods. The time of year also affects water demand. In the summer months water demand increases dramatically, increasing the capacity utility companies need to meet demand. Water demand in the summer months can be up to four times that of demand in the winter. On an average day an American family uses 320 gallons of water, and in the summer this can increase to 1,000 gallons per day!
It is common belief that lush green gardens can only exist with ample supply of water, but water efficient methods and systems can create beautiful landscapes that are just as attractive or more attractive than non-water efficient ones. [1]
Ecofriendly landscaping saves much more than water. This chart shows that ecofriendly landscaping decreases CO2 emissions, waste, labor, as well as water.[1]
[1] The New California Landscape, “Numbers Speak for Themselves”, Accessed 1 Dec. 2014
This picture compares outdoor water use in Pennsylvania versus in California. Areas of the U.S. with warmer and drier climates tend to use a lot more water outdoors.