The City of Lafayette strives to conserve water and reduce overall water consumption. In November of 2013 Lafayette City Council enacted a permanent water conservation ordinance to help protect the City's water resources regardless of drought conditions.

Tips you can do at home to conserve water:

Water-Wise Landscaping-Irrigation

  1. Watering the lawn before 10am or after 6pm cuts down on evaporation.
  2. Be aware of weather forecasts and turn off your irrigation system when it's supposed to rain or high winds are predicted.
  3. If you use a hose to water the lawn, it must be equipped with an automatic shutoff nozzle. The hose must be attended at all times while water is running.
  4. During the summer, lawns only need to be watered two days a week. You pick the days. In extreme summer heat, add one more day to your weekly picks.
  5. Every month, check the timer on your sprinkler system to make sure it follows the recommended watering times.
  6. Encourage deeper grass roots to develop by spreading out your watering days.
  7. Break the amount of watering time for each zone into three shorter cycles. This will allow water to soak deeper into the soil. Modern sprinkler system timers have a cycle function.
  8. Take advantage of a FREE irrigation audit program for Lafayette residents.

Lawns, Plants and Gardening

  1. Adjust your lawn mower blade to leave grass 2.5-3 inches tall.
  2. Putting a layer of mulch around your trees and plants cuts down on evaporation and can save hundreds of gallons of water a month.
  3. Plant native grasses that require less water to grow.
  4. Aerate your lawn in the spring so water will reach the roots instead of running off the surface.
  5. Use wise water landscape practices from start to finish when planning your garden landscape.
  6. Consider planting a xeriscape garden with our new Garden-in-a-Box program or Turf Removal Program

Learn more about the right types of plants that will help save water.

Washing Dishes and Clothing

  1. When washing by hand, fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water, rather than letting water run.
  2. Soak pots and pans before washing
  3. Run your dishwasher and washing machine only when they are full

Washing Up

  1. Try a faucet aerator on your sink to reduce water use
  2. Take shallow baths
  3. Keeping showers under 5 minutes can save you up to 1000 gallons a month
  4. Use a low-flow showerhead
  5. Get a FREE indoor water-use inspection audit offered to Lafayette residents
  6. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth or while shaving, and save up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four

Toilet

  1. Install low volume toilets
  2. Make sure your toilet flapper doesn't stick open after flushing
  3. Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak