Do We Just Need a Sign to Reduce Water Consumption?

Many industrial facilities in the U.S. are located in non-urban areas. These facilities usually have grassy areas to improve their look and offer employees a space to relax, eat, or meet outside.

These grassy areas must be watered regularly by either an automated system or a lawn service. Local rules limiting watering to certain days or times are followed. These rules are currently in place in about thirty states.

However, more than these restrictions may be needed to reduce water consumption.

A lawn typically needs about one inch of water per week. To give you an idea of how much water this is, a tiny lawn, say one hundred square feet, requires approximately sixty-two gallons of water each week.?

The water consumption of lawns in the U.S. is a major environmental concern. A typical lawn of 2,500 square feet requires 155,000 gallons of water every week, or more than eight million gallons per year.

What we are finding is that the current water restrictions based on specific days and times are not proving effective enough in reducing this amount of water.

To address this problem, researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) designed and implemented a pilot program called "The Rain-Watered Lawn.”

The aim of this program was to test whether water conservation strategies based on weather conditions were more efficient than the existing water restrictions.

The researchers conducted a test with 627 households split into two groups: 321 households in the experimental group and 306 in the control group. The control group followed the existing water restrictions but did not make any other changes.

In addition, the researchers did a simple intervention in the experimental neighborhoods. They put up road signs that would update regularly, showing how much rain had fallen in the last seven days, reminding homeowners that most Florida lawns only needed to be watered about once a week.?

These signs would also have this message at the bottom:

"Is rainfall alone meeting the water needs of your lawn?"

This got homeowners questioning if they really needed to water their lawn.

After a few weeks, the researchers collected the data. They discovered that during the summer months, when this region of Florida had the highest water demand, the experimental group - with the signs posted in their neighborhood - reduced their lawn watering by an impressive 61 percent from the beginning, saving millions of gallons of water per week.

The control group did not show any significant changes in their water use.

Moreover, the experimental group maintained a 41 percent lower water use than the control group throughout the study period. This suggested that they had adopted a water conservation habit.

The Bigger Picture

The researchers suggested that their findings have more significant ramifications than might initially be realized.

"This program has the added benefit of getting people more in tune with the natural water cycle, which might help [water users] prepare for changes in water supply and water policy," said Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., dean of FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

Does this mean we could post similar signs in, for instance, the restrooms of industrial facilities - typically where the second largest amount of water is consumed – updating them on water conditions and urging them to use water more efficiently?

The researchers believe the answer is yes. They say the signs created "a greater sense of environmental stewardship that could be tied to everyday activities," which could help reduce water consumption in industrial restrooms and throughout the facility, potentially reducing water consumption.

Klaus Reichardt is CEO and founder of Waterless Co, Inc, pioneers in advancing water efficiency. ?Reichardt founded the company in 1991 with the goal of establishing a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water efficiency in mind. Reichardt is a frequent writer and presenter, discussing water conservation issues.?He can be reached at [email protected]