Using data can help conserve water

To conserve the most water while keeping a lawn healthy, new lawn-watering technologies may be a homeowner's best solution.

"These technologies take the homeowner out of the equation entirely," said Dan Bowman, associate professor of crop science at N.C. State University.

Among the new watering-system devices:

MOISTURE SENSORS: For those who are willing to make a big investment in their lawns, a system that senses the amount of moisture in the soil might be the solution.

"Soil moisture sensors sense how much plant-available water is in the soil," explained John Fordemwalt, CEO of Baseline irrigation management solutions in Idaho. "They only allow irrigation when the soil is dry. It auto-configures to your property's needs."

Because the sensors are actively testing soil moisture right at the base of the plant itself, this system is considered the most efficient for irrigation regulation.

But the system doesn't comply with current Raleigh water restrictions. It waters on its own time, not on designated days.

A soil moisture system runs about $150. Installation requires an existing irrigation timer.

SATELLITES: Satellite weather data is accessed by the home system to calculate how much moisture the soil has lost since the last watering session. The satellite information is used to determine how long the system should run to replace the lost moisture.

"You get some climatic data, like the high temperature and the low temperature and the humidity and the wind and the rainfall, and from there it's able to estimate how much water is needed," said Fordemwalt.

The service is not cheap, however, running around $200 plus a small monthly service fee. Installation requires an existing irrigation timer.

TURF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT: The most cost-effective way to keep your lawn well irrigated is the Turf Irrigation Management System, an online service available to North Carolinians. It calculates how much a lawn needs to be watered using N.C. Climate Office current weather data and user input information about turf type.

"It only takes five minutes to sign up, and it's free," said Charles Peacock, professor of crop science at NCSU and lead scientist on the TIMS project. Go to www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/TIMS/ to sign up.