EVERETT, Wash. - Prior to Washington Governor Gary Locke’s March 14 declaration of an official drought in the state (see Washington State Governor Declares Drought), the Washington Association of Landscape Professionals (WALP) started a campaign to educate the public about the advantages of contacting landscape professionals during a dry spell to cover proper water conservation measures, which does not include putting off landscaping plans until wetter weather arrives. The action was prompted by the City of Seattle and Seattle Public Utilities’ announcement of the institution of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan in late February (see WALP Promotes Benefits Of Professionals During Water Shortage).
The contingency plan has entered into its second stage, which is also a voluntary stage of the program that encourages a 10 percent savings on water consumption, as of April 5. WALP is again encouraging all water users, including industrial, commercial and residential customers, to take the necessary steps to conserve water.
WALP’s major concern about drought situations is that the landscape and nursery industries are asked to carry the burden of water conservation, and the spring and summer seasons are the industries’ busiest time of the year - which coincidentally, is also the time of greatest water use.
The potential impact to the landscape and nursery industries is great as these industries employ more than 65,800 people and generate $1.2 billion in retail sales in Washington. Concern for the industries also banks on the fact that 80 percent of the state’s green industry is located in western Washington (based on a four-year study by Washington State University).
Because of this potential for hurting the industry, WALP has consistently worked with the state and local governments on ways to educate government, consumers and also the green industry, said Peter Dervin, executive director of WALP. "My concern is: how do we educate industry to start looking at alternatives and promoting new ways of doing business?" he explained. "We need to identify and educate ourselves on new practices, new procedures, new products and new marketing skills in order to attract people to use our products and services."
Therefore, WALP is encouraging landscape professionals serving King County, Pierce County and Snohomish County to inform consumers about the proper steps that can be taken to improve and maintain a healthy green landscape during a potential water shortage. WALP has recommended the following to the public:
- Water either early in the morning or early evening. By doing this, consumers will be using water during off-peak hours and will avoid evaporation caused by warm temperatures.
- If consumers are considering a new landscape installation or renovation, now is the ideal time to get it established. From April to July, seasonal rains will assist in the establishment of a healthy landscape that will withstand any potential drought conditions that might occur during the summer.
- Consumers should have a water audit done on their existing irrigation/sprinkler system. This could provide them with valuable information of how to improve their system’s efficiency.
- On new installations, 4 to 8 inches of organic-based topsoils should be added and rototilled into existing soils. This will create a better planting medium that will encourage healthy plant growth.
- When maintaining a landscape investment, consumers should let their lawns grow an additional ½ inch to 1 inch. Also, when consumers mow their lawns, they should use a grass-cycling or mulching mower, or leave the clippings on the lawn, as the grass clippings will supply nutrients back into the turf and assist in saving water.
- Consumers should also mulch planter beds to retain moisture for tree and shrub roots.
By taking these steps now, WALP told consumers that their landscape and irrigation investment will have a better chance of yielding growth through a period of water shortage and drought conditions.
For more information about WALP visit www.walp.org.